The Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation/Iowa Select Farms is donating approximately 29,700 pounds of fresh, boneless pork loin roasts to help feed Iowa families in need during the holiday season. The nutritious meat, valued at $55,000, is being delivered this week to local community organizations, food shelves, pantries and food banks across Iowa.
The donation comes at a time when one in eight Iowans, or more than 400,000 individuals, do not have the means to obtain adequate food to maintain a health and active lifestyle, according to the Food Bank of Iowa. One in five Iowa children does not have enough to eat, according to the Food Bank of Iowa, which reports that rising food prices have stretched supplies and reduced the amount of donations this year.
“We are glad to be able to provide fresh, nutritious meat to those who are food insecure in the communities where we have employees and producers,” says Jeff Hansen, president and CEO of Iowa Select Farms, based in Iowa Falls. “As food producers, we’re grateful that we are able to help alleviate hunger in Iowa.”
The fresh, boneless roasts being distributed this week are approximately 4.5 lb. and each can feed 24 people a 3-oz. serving of high-quality, wholesome pork. The 550 cases of pork loin roasts donated by the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation/Iowa Select Farms this holiday season will provide approximately 158,400 servings.
“This donation will make a lot of people happy because we have more families using the food bank for the first time this year,” says Leo Chisholm, who runs the Mitchell County Food Bank in Osage, Iowa. “These pork loins will provide a high-quality, main-menu item for a holiday meal that some families would not otherwise have. It is wonderful to have friends like Deb and Jeff Hansen and the families that work for them at Iowa Select Farms looking out for our local food banks and pantries.”
In addition to the $55,000 in pork loins donated this holiday season, the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation/Iowa Select Farms will contribute fresh pork valued at $55,000 during February, March and April — months when the inventory at food pantries tends to drop particularly low.
“We love providing a warm meal to families during the holidays,” Hansen says. “But we also recognize that there are families in need throughout the year, which is why our donations go beyond the giving season.”
The Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation/Iowa Select Farms also plans to donated $60,000 in pork products to food pantries in late summer, along with an $8,000 contribution of pork to Hope Ministries in Des Moines. That will bring total pork donations for the year to 67,368 pounds of pork valued at approximately $128,000, an increase of $48,000 over the previous year.
About the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation
In early 2006, the Hansen's established the Deb and Jeff Hansen/Iowa Select Farms Foundation to provide ongoing support for community development and service by working with and through philanthropic organizations, particularly those that impact hunger relief, support military families and our strengthen efforts to find a cure for childhood cancer.