PIPESTONE teamed up with local grocery stores this holiday season on a project called “Give a Helping Ham” with one goal in mind: Help Fight Hunger.  One out of every five kids in America struggle with hunger.   “There are an astounding number of families in our community that are food insecure.  Give a Helping Ham is a simple way to get the community involved in giving back and providing families with some nutritious protein that they may not otherwise have,” said Dr. Luke Minion, CEO of Pipestone.

Give a Helping Ham made it easy for community members to get involved in giving back to their local food bank.  All you had to do was purchase a ham from a participating store the week before Christmas, and PIPESTONE would donate pork in return.  Grocery stores that participated included Coborn’s in Pipestone, MN, all seven Hy-Vee store locations in Sioux Falls, SD and all three Hy-Vee locations in Ottumwa, IA.  If you entered one of these stores the week before Christmas, you were likely greeted by some signs promoting the event.  As a result of the program, 229 hams were donated to the Pipestone Food Shelf in Pipestone, MN, 5,120 pork loins to Feeding South Dakota in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and 4,500 pork loins to The Food Bank of Southern Iowa.

Give a Helping Ham donated 55,000 lbs. of pork to local food banks!  Thanks to all those that participated in the program.

Of course, our food banks/shelves need more than monetary donations to continue to serve in our communities.  Please consider helping out as a volunteer and contact your local food shelf to see what their needs may be.

 

Southern Hy-Vee and Dr. Steve Menke with Pipestone Veterinary Services presented Food Bank of Southern Iowa with the pork loin donated through the Give a Helping Ham promotion.