About — Mother's Milk Bank of Alabama

What We Do

The Mothers’ Milk Bank of Alabama is a non-profit organization that collects, processes, and facilitates the distribution of excess mothers’ milk to provide nourishment to babies in need and sick or premature infants to helps moms who can’t supply their own milk because of stress, medications, or other complications. The Mothers’ Milk Bank of Alabama is a member of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA).

Our Story

The vision for MMBAL began with Mary Michael Kelley, former Executive Director of the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama. She recognized that the function of a milk bank perfectly paralleled that of the food bank, with its thirty-year history of receiving, processing, and distributing donated food. Our organization decided to further serve Alabamians by increasing the survivability and enhancing the development of premature and critically ill infants. MMBAL was established in 2013 as a depot housed within the Community Food Bank. We accepted donations destined for the Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas until November of 2015 when we sent out the first breastmilk pasteurized in Alabama. And in 2016, our first full operating year, we dispensed more than 19,000 fluid ounces of pasteurized donor milk.

Since its inception, the Mothers’ Milk Bank of Alabama has grown to include 15 partner hospitals, 11 drop-off depots, and more than 800 milk donors. The momentum of 2016 brought membership in the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA). We look forward to expanding our efforts to meet the increasing demand from both hospitals and donors as word of our organization spreads.

Mothers’ Milk Bank of Alabama 2024 Board of Directors

President: Wendy Morrell, Director of Operations Mainstreet Family Care

Vice President: Bryn Manzella, MPH–Jefferson County Health Department

Treasurer: Jen Nickelson, PhD, RD, MCHESUniversity of Alabama MPH program

Secretary: Natalie Clements, RD Jefferson County Health Department - WIC

Trendle Samuel, RN, BSN, CLC Alabama Department of Public Health

Rainie Robinson, MS, RD Children’s of Alabama

Marcella Bennet, BSN, RN, IBCLC Brookwood Baptist Health

Christy Nation, MSHA, BSN, RN UAB Medicine Women and Infants Center

Laurie Gregory, MA, BSN, RN, CHES, CLC Alabama WIC Breastfeeding Coordinator

Sandra King, MD, DNP, FNP-BC, IBCLC Columbiana Clinic Family Nurse Practitioner

Jessica Spade Corporate Counsel, Cummins Filtration

Sylvia Edwards, RN, MS, APN, IBCLC RLC UAB Women and Infants

How You Can Help

MMBAL depends on Alabama mothers who breastfeed. Your donations allow us to feed local babies whose mothers are unable to supply their own milk. When you bring your excess milk to one of our drop-off depots, we pasteurize it to make sure it’s safe, then distribute it to our partner hospitals. Since our inception in 2013, we’ve grown to include 12 drop-off depots, 17 partner hospitals, and more than 1,000 milk donors. But we need your help to keep growing and increasing the survival rate of sick and premature babies throughout their state.

Monetary donations are another great way to contribute and are considered charitable gifts for tax purposes. Donate today and help us expand our capacity to process donated milk, purchase supplies, and help more babies grow and thrive. To learn more about becoming a donor mom or volunteering at the milk bank, visit the Donate Time page or the Donate Milk page. Connect with us on social media to spread the word and reach more moms.

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