posted on Tuesday, September 13, 2022
With inflation on the rise, many struggling families will feel a sense of comfort after the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation and Iowa Select Farms donated 8,436 pork loins totaling 151,848 servings to help fight food insecurity in rural Iowa. The pork was delivered July 20 – August 9 to 84 food pantries, community organizations and shelves across Iowa.
“Meat is at an all-time high price,” said Lisa Tiepelman, coordinator for the Neighborhood Center Food Pantry in Lenox, Iowa. “Many clients are finding it difficult to afford food. Protein is an essential part of everyone’s diet. Our clients getting what they need relieves some of the stress the economy has put on them financially.”
The Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation has a strong passion for ensuring Iowans have nutritious protein on their plates, and the “Haul Out Hunger” program supports local food pantries that are also seeing a rise in their prices. This makes it difficult to assist families and individuals who come through their doors. “Haul Out Hunger” took place over nine days, and Iowa Select Farms employees delivered 695 cases of meat, each containing 12, 5-pound pork loins.
“Food insecurity is an unfortunate reality for too many Iowans,” said Madison Lafrenz, Foundation Program Manager. “We hope this pork loin donation will help bring families together and provide some stability. Food pantry inventories are historically low during the summer months when schools are out for summer vacation and holiday donation inventory dwindle.”
Deliveries at each food pantry were shared on Iowa Select Farms social media to showcase the dedication and hard work the volunteers put in every day to support members of their community, some who are finding themselves in need for the first time.
“We are seeing a bigger number of people requesting help from the food pantries, and some that have never participated before,” said Tony McBroom, coordinator for SCICAP in Decatur and Clarke Counties. “This is all because of the increase in most all foods across the board. Helping them with the pork loins is huge for some families who are always grateful for the meat.”
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