The Governor’s Feeding Iowans Task Force, led by Lt. Governor Adam Gregg launched several initiatives following the outbreak of COVID-19. Two of these programs are Beef Up Iowa and Pass the Pork which help direct locally grown meat products to food insecure Iowans.
The Iowa State University Meats Laboratory has served as the location for harvesting and processing the cattle and hog donations. Support from Iowa commodity groups connect beef and pork producers with the opportunity to donate their animals. The program also transitioned into processing pork and beef trim into one-pound packages for distribution into the food bank system. The trim is procured from other processing facilities where animals are harvested.
The ground meat is distributed to food banks and food pantries across the state through the Iowa Food Bank Association. As of November 18, 2020, there has been almost 75,505 pounds of ground beef and 42,975 pounds of ground pork donated through these programs.
Many individuals and companies have also made generous financial contributions to these programs in addition to the CARES Act Funding allocated by Governor Reynolds.
Beef Up Iowa
Ground beef sent to food banks: 75,504.58 pounds
Pass the Pork
Ground pork sent to the food banks: 42,975.01 pounds
Overall Totals
Total ground product sent to food banks in Iowa: 118,479.59
People fed*: 98,732.99 individuals
*1.2 pounds of food feeds one person according to the Iowa Food Bank Association & USDA guidelines
To support the Pass the Pork program visit https://donorbox.org/passthepork.