Eight barbecue cooks from the Whole Hog Barbecue Series set up their pits and cooked 150 pork shoulders donated by the North Carolina Pork Council and the National Pork Board. The team was able to provide 800 pounds of food – 3,200 meals – to families served by the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle in Raleigh.
Additionally, Smithfield Foods donated over 42,000 pounds of pork to the Food Shuttle as a part of their commitment to help fight hunger. These two contributions bring North Carolina’s total community donations to 43,300 pounds (173,200 servings).
The efforts to fight hunger during the COVID-19 pandemic are seen all over the country. The Ohio Pork Council helped with a substantial donation of 2,400 Sugardale hams to benefit the West Ohio Food Bank.
“For Ohio’s pig farmers, providing a safe, wholesome food supply is our livelihood — and giving back to community members is at the core of our values,” said Ohio Pork Council President-Elect Ryan McClure. The 2,400 hams provided over 9,600 meals and contributed to the overall 23,000 pounds of pork donated to those in need.
Farmers Union Enterprises and the Wisconsin Farmers Union responded to the needs of their communities by donating 30,000 pounds of Redwood Farms pork ribs to Feed My People Food Bank in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
These organizations were proactive in their efforts to help others during the challenging times created by the pandemic. They’re not the only ones — enough meat has been donated to provide 121,200 meals across the state.
North Dakota Farmers Union president, Mark Watne, says the food banks are doing all they can to meet the increased demand for food due to COVID-19 and high unemployment. Part of a five-state giving spree, the Farmers Union donated 30,000 pork ribs to the Great Plains Food Bank in Fargo. They also donated pork ribs to food banks in neighboring states, totaling 150,000 pounds, or 600,000 servings of meat.
The North Dakota Farmers Union’s contribution to nearby states exemplifies the spirit of helping others, something they always strive to do. In total, North and South Dakota together have donated 73,000 pounds of pork, feeding 292,000 meals to those in need.