Producers Dairy and the Central California Blood Center will partner for the first-annual Producers Dairy Blood Drive this Saturday.

Team members, their families and the community are invited to the drive, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Producers Dairy headquarters located at 250 E. Belmont Ave.

“Nourishing communities has always been an important part of what we do,” said Producers Dairy Chief Executive Officer Scott Shehadey. “The 1st Annual Producers Dairy Blood Drive is another way of giving back and supporting the Central California Blood Center in their mission to save lives.”

Participants will receive free tacos and ice cream to celebrate the community’s donors and to show gratitude for donations — donations which the CCBC is in dire need of to supply patients suffering from everything from accidents to organ transplants.

The CCBC has served the Valley since 1954 in Downtown Fresno with just two registered nurses, two lab technicians and a recording secretary.

Today, the nonprofit organization serves over 1.9 million people at more than 20 hospitals and network facilities throughout Fresno, Tulare, Madera, Kings and Mariposa counties, responsible for collecting between 5,000 and 6,000 pints of blood each month. The center often partners with local businesses and organizations to facilitate blood drives, including donation events at local schools, storefronts and nonprofit organizations.

The blood drive aims to carry on Producers Dairy’s legacy, helping the locally-owned business live up to their mantra — “Nourishing Lives One at a Time.”