Operation Christmas Meal: Pork loins fill stomachs and hearts
Each year, to celebrate the holiday season, the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation organizes Operation Christmas Meal, a beloved tradition for the organization and its employees since 2011. In December, employees brave the cold to hand out five-pound pork loins and recipe books to Iowans in need, providing a nutritious holiday meal for those who might not otherwise have access to one. There are no requirements to receive a pork loin at an Operation Christmas Meal event. Recipients drive through the line and pick up a loin for themselves or someone in their life who needs a good meal.
In 2025, over 500 employee volunteers handed out 27,000 pork loins at Operation Christmas Meal events in Des Moines, Rockwell City, Alta, West Bend, Osage, Allison, Grundy Center, Keosauqua, Corydon, Chariton, Osceola, Afton, Mount Ayr, Eagle Grove, Webster City, and Iowa Falls. In addition, 6,000 pork loins were delivered to the Food Bank of Iowa and the Northeast Iowa Food Bank to be distributed to food pantries in 71 Iowa counties.
This program is an essential part of the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation’s mission to fight hunger in Iowa, and its continued success is a testament to the generosity and compassion of its volunteers and supporters. Over the past 15 years, over 4.5 million pounds of pork have been given away at Operation Christmas Meal events in 58 communities.
Hundreds of Iowa Select Farms employees readily volunteer at their community’s giveaway, handing pork loins through car windows of families that need an extra hand during the holidays.
The spirit of giving is ignited by encouraging those without need to pick up a pork loin and provide it to someone they know who is in need, such as a struggling single mother or an elderly, home-bound neighbor.
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Watch a video on our hunger relief efforts