Million Meals Program

Indiana Pork Producers Make Timely Donation of Pork
12/15/2009
Hoosier Ag Today

As the holidays and the economy conspire to drive the need for emergency food assistance, Gleaners is struggling to meet the needs of local families. Holiday meals with candles are a pretty vision, but not the reality for thousands of hungry Hoosiers. Right now Gleaners is struggling to keep up with its charities requests for more food. That‘s why donations, like the one made Tuesday by the Indiana Pork Producers, are critical at this time.

Indiana Pork, in partnership with Feeding Indiana‘s Hungry, Inc. and the Indiana Soybean Alliance, donated 5,000 pounds of ground pork to Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, Inc. on Tuesday. The donation was part of approximately 250,000 pounds of pork earmarked for Indiana through an ongoing campaign for Indiana pork producers and industry partners to fund a program to donate pork products to Hoosiers experiencing hunger.

The Million Meals program is designed to help thousands of Hoosier families with one of their most essential needs - high quality protein. The lofty goal of the campaign is to provide one million ground pork meals per year, throughout the year, to those in need. These pork meals will be distributed statewide through the nine food bank members of Feeding Indiana‘s Hungry, Inc., Indiana‘s statewide network of food banks.

"Indiana donations of pork products have been in place for decades, however, this is the first time the Indiana pork industry is tackling the problem of hunger on a coordinated statewide basis," said Randy Curless, Indiana Pork President. "We are excited about the partnership with the Indiana Soybean Alliance on this particular donation as it highlights the important connection between Indiana‘s livestock and grain farmers."

"Indiana pork producers saw the need in the state and they came to us with a plan to provide one million pork meals per year," said Emily Weikert Bryant, Executive Director of Feeding Indiana‘s Hungry. "They‘ve always been generous but this really couldn‘t have come at a better time for our member food banks. We couldn‘t be prouder of our association with Indiana Pork and its partners in delivering the Million Meals program." Read More

I had the good fortune to be part of a group that volunteered some time at the Gleaners Food Bank in Indianapolis while we were there for the National FFA Convention. Having been to several food banks in large cities, it never ceases to amaze me how much these groups accomplish with so few resources. Along with that, they are so grateful for any help. The demands being place on food banks by hungry families have increased dramatically with the downturn of the economy. Farmers and ranchers not only care about their livestock, but they also care about their neighbors. Please donate time or any other resources you can.