Ohio Farm Family Donates Nearly 22,500 Meals to Local Food Bank

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Hord Livestock of Bucyrus, Ohio delivered a donation of nearly 4,500 pounds of ground pork, or 22,500 meals, to the Second Harvest Foodbank of Mahoning Valley, located in Youngstown. The donation is part of a statewide effort to combat hunger. To date, the Hord family has contributed more than 34,000 meals to Ohio families in need.

The effort, Pork Power: Partnering to Fight Hunger in Ohio, is a partnership between the Ohio Pork Producers Council (OPPC), the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks (OASHF), the Ohio Association of Meat Processors (OAMP) and the Ohio Corn Marketing Program (OCMP). These groups hope to provide 100,000 pounds of pork, or 500,000 meals, through October 31, 2010, which will be distributed through the 12 Ohio foodbanks that are part of the OASHF network. The program kicked off on September 22, 2009, and has currently donated nearly 37,000 pounds of pork, or more than 185,000 meals to Ohio foodbanks.

"Having a nutritious, high-protein meal on the table should be an expectation, not a luxury, for Ohio families," said Pat Hord of Hord Livestock. "Our farm has always made it our practice to help our community members in any way possible. We are proud to have the opportunity to be partnering with the Ohio Pork Producers Council in
this effort to fight hunger in Ohio." Hord Livestock raises hogs, cattle, corn, soybeans, wheat and hay throughout north central Ohio. They strive to live out their vision of "Feeding Families through Sustainable Food Production."

In addition to Hord Livestock's contribution, other participating farms in the Pork Power program include: Heimerl Farms of Johnstown, Cooper Farms of Oakwood, Chuck Wildman of South Charleston, Kalmbach Swine Management of Upper Sandusky, Pork Champ of Waldo, Harrod Farms of Rossburg, Vaubel Swine Genetics of Botkins, Archbold Elevator of Archbold, Surber family of Sabina, Mercer Landmark of Celina, Maken' Bacon Farms of Morral, Rushwood Farms of Kenton and Advanced Agri-Solutions of Wapakoneta.

Members of OAMP are processing the meat at a reduced rate to support the program's efforts.  This donation was processed by Link's Country Meats of Crestline.  Other participating processors include: Brookview Farms Meats & BBQ of Archbold, Tucker Packing Co. of Marshallville, Perfect's Meat Market of Johnstown, Kelble Brothers of Berlin Heights, J & K Angus & Meat Processing of Cambridge, Kah Meats of Wapakoneta, Turf Care Supply Corp. of Brunswick, Border's Market of Plymouth, Curly's Custom Meats of Jackson Center, Dee Jays of Fredericktown, D&H of Vanlue, House's of Versailles, and Hoffman Meats of Cardington.

"We are extremely grateful for this contribution and partnership with Ohio's pork industry," said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, OASHF executive director. "The availability of high-quality, nutritious protein is critically important for families in our
community, especially as many are struggling to put food on their tables."

Hamler-Fugitt said OASHF is the state's largest charitable response to hunger and distributes food and grocery items to more than 3,000 member charities in all 88 Ohio counties.  In State Fiscal Year 2009, foodbanks distributed more than 113.7 million pounds of food and grocery items through the network of food pantries, soup
kitchens and homeless shelters, with more than 24.5 million pounds of this food being provided through OASHF programs.

"While this is a challenging time for our industry, our hog farmers are honored to help Ohioans in need," said Dick Isler, OPPC executive vice president. He said Ohio ranks ninth in the nation for pork production.

Pork contains many of the nutrients recommended by health organizations to build and maintain a healthy body, including six essential vitamins, four important minerals, protein and energy. Pork's lean meat serves as an excellent source of thiamin, vitamin B6, phosphorus and niacin, and a good source of riboflavin, potassium and
zinc.

In addition, a study released in 2006 by the USDA reveals six common cuts of fresh pork are leaner today than they were 15 years ago - on average about 16 percent lower in total fat and 27 percent lower in saturated fat. The leaner pork is the result of new technology in hog production and superior genetics.

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