Iowa Select Farms and the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation announce the locations of Operation Christmas Meal, a free pork loin giveaway for families who aren’t planning a Christmas meal due to insufficient funds.
This year, Operation Christmas Meal will give away 18,000 boneless pork loins roasts at 14 different events across Iowa. In addition, the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation is launching a new program aimed at increasing awareness of hunger locally and helping even more families during the holiday season.
Operation Christmas Meal will kick off Friday, December 6 at 5:00 a.m. at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and end on Thursday, December 19 at 7:00 p.m. in Osage at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds. Over the course of five days, Operation Christmas Meal will also travel to Webster City, Eldora, Parkersburg, Lenox, Osceola, Humeston, Iowa Falls, Carroll, Storm Lake, Pocahontas, Hampton, Mason City and Osage.
“During an especially difficult time for families in need, Operation Christmas Meal helps create a happy holiday for all Iowans, no matter their circumstances or level of income,” said Jen Sorenson, Communications Director of Iowa Select Farms. “The event is free and open to anyone in need.”
Now in its ninth year, Operation Christmas Meal has provided more than 820,000 Christmas meals to Iowa families. The event has become a holiday tradition for the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation with hundreds of Iowa Select Farms employees volunteering to brave the cold to hand out the pork loins year-after-year.
Igniting the Spirit of Giving Through Community Projects
A new component of Operation Christmas Meal is aimed at increasing awareness of hunger locally and helping even more families during the holiday season.
The Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation and Iowa Select Farms is awarding cases of pork loins and $250 cash to FFA, 4-H and school-based organizations throughout the local areas of each regional Operation Christmas Meal. The donations will help student organizations host a community meal, organize and distribute holiday food baskets, or come up with their own idea for providing a meal to families in need.
“This is a great opportunity for students to better understand hunger, plan their own unique project or event while also partnering with organizations that provide different areas of support to local families,” said Sorenson. FFA and 4-H clubs will also be provided event kits with aprons, placemats, table tents and meat thermometers.