Dallas-Fort Worth family of 11 receives free year’s supply of milk after viral video
After the Stotler family faced online ridicule over a viral CNN segment when they said they buy 12 gallons of milk a week, a Dallas-Fort Worth milk supplier stepped in to donate a free year’s supply to the family of 11.
The Stotlers, who live in Kennedale, are a family full of diversity who are overcoming adversity. In a CNN interview, Krista and Larry Stotler described their trouble keeping up with inflation on grocery prices, especially with a key household item — milk — describing how what used to be $1.99 per carton has increased by nearly $2 and is adding up quickly as they try to feed their nine children, seven of whom are adopted or fostered.
“Many of our teenagers are 6-foot-2 big, big boys,” Krista Stotler told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “We don’t provide sodas for them. It’s bowls of cereal, it’s cooking, it’s filling up a 32-ounce glass and drinking and chugging the whole thing, then filling it up again. It’s been something for kids who come from hard places, and come from foster care. A lot of times they have abuse and neglect where they don’t have food available, so to have that food, healthy and available [for them] is important.”
The clip describing the family’s circumstances has generated over 5.5 million views on Twitter since last Thursday. Alongside it, dialogue and criticism filled the social media platform with many users asking why a family would need that much milk.
“I was thinking about this, this morning, and how people have been so mean on social media and making fun of us,” Krista said. “But people are going to be mean. It doesn’t matter what the situation is, if it’s political, if it is what you drive, what you look like, if you’re fat, if you’re skinny, people are just going to be mean sometimes, and we just try to teach our kids that, this is life.”
And that’s when Dairy Farmers of America and Texas-based Oak Farms stepped in, announcing that the milk company would donate a free year’s supply to the family, just one of its few initiatives toward giving back to the North Texas community.
“We got a platform where we can actually help folks that are in need or with schools, you know? People are looking for nutritious products here for their families and we happen to have milk, which is one of the most dense nutrient items out there,” Steve Gibson of Oak Farms said, explaining the company also donates to local food pantries and schools and holds local events to help people experiencing homelessness.
On Wednesday morning, a blue tractor-trailer painted with green grass, trees, a red barn and “Oak Farms” on the side drove to the Stotlers’ home to drop off their first 12 gallons of milk — marking what will eventually be a 625-gallon donation.
After the initial delivery, the family of 11, with children ranging from 3 to 23 years old, received free coupons to last them until this time next year.
“We just appreciate everybody who’s been willing to step out and offer us a prayer or support or whatever,” Larry Stotler said. “There’s way more good people in the world than there are bad. Some of the stories that have come out [of this] are just the bad stuff, and we don’t really want to focus on that kind of stuff. We want to focus on people who are going to help each other.”
Krista agreed, adding that the CNN segment has given their family a platform to push their message and hopefully help others, including children in foster care.
“I’ve been using this as an opportunity where every time I commented on something [on Twitter], I would say, ‘Don’t forget its National Adoption Month’ in November,” she said, throwing in a link for more information. “People would retweet what I was tweeting and they are spreading the word for us.”
The Stotlers’ roots with adoption began with Larry, who was adopted just nine days after he was born. The family said although there’s been challenges in their journey, they hope their story will push others to help.
“The Lord always makes a way for it to work out. People always tell us, ‘We couldn’t do that,’ and it’s nothing special,” Larry said. “We feel blessed to have the opportunity to help somebody and if we can make one kid’s life a little better, then it’s all worth it.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 2:27 PM.
