Smithfield donates 16.25 tons of pork to Geneva’s Northern Illinois Food Bank

GENEVA – Protein is, by far, the most requested food item of the Northern Illinois Food Bank, which is based in Geneva.

Smithfield Foods donated 32,500 pounds of protein – or 16.25 tons – to the food bank Dec. 13 and provided a dozen workers from the St. Charles location and two from the corporate office to deliver and pack the meat.

“Protein is one of the most requested items by our neighbors,” Julie Yurko, Northern Illinois Food Bank president and CEO, said in a news release. “Smithfield’s donation of nearly 130,000 servings of protein means our neighbors will have the food they need to thrive this holiday season.”

Smithfield’s specific donation is pork shanks – also known as pork wings because of their versatile uses.

The pork shanks were delivered frozen to maximize shelf life and allow the food bank time to get it to those they serve while maintaining food safety standards, Smithfield spokeswoman Chloe Carson said in an email.

In order to make a donation of this size possible, Smithfield relied on its community development, customer success, transportation and communications teams to work together with the food bank, Carson’s email said. Together, they worked to source the product, schedule the delivery, organize volunteers and attend the on-site event.

“It’s a team effort and one that we are extremely proud of,” Carson’s email said.

The Northern Illinois Food Bank provides 250,000 meals a day across 13 Illinois counties, partnering with more than 900 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and youth and senior feeding programs through the Feeding America Network.

“We are so grateful for our longstanding partners at Smithfield Foods,” Jacob Lamplough, food bank donor development manager, said in a news release. “The enduring collaboration has allowed us to strengthen our communities together. Today’s generous protein donation will significantly contribute to addressing the increasing needs in our communities. As we witness a growing need, focusing on protein in our distributions becomes paramount. This support from Smithfield Foods exemplifies the power of partnerships in creating positive impacts and nourishing those who need it most.”

Since 2008, Smithfield’s signature hunger relief program, Helping Hungry Homes, has provided hundreds of millions of servings of protein to all 50 states, as well as in Poland, Romania and Mexico.

In 2022, Smithfield donated almost 25 million servings of protein to food banks, disaster relief efforts and community outreach programs across the country. To reflect its continued commitment to fighting food insecurity, Smithfield has pledged to donate 200 million servings of protein by 2025, according to the release.

“Hunger does not take a holiday break and neither do we,” Jonathan Toms, Smithfield Foods senior community development manager, said in the release. “Together with our more than 2,000 Illinois team members, Smithfield Foods is proud to give back in the best way that we know how this holiday season, by providing essential protein to our neighbors in need. The holiday season should be spent celebrating with loved ones, not worrying about finding food to put on the table.”