FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: David Eaheart, APR
(913) 261-2621
[email protected]

More than 300,000 servings of pork donated throughout the year to charitable organizations

MERRIAM, Kan. (Dec. 29, 2016) — Seaboard Foods ended the year by donating 6,600 pounds of seasoned fresh pork and bacon to Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas that will provide nearly 30,000 servings of meat to families through the organization’s nine food pantries in northeast Kansas.

During the past fiscal year, the charity provided food assistance 248,480 times, which is a 30 percent increase from the previous year, according to Dustin Hardison, director of stabilization and housing for Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas.

“Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas relies heavily on donations from generous companies, such as Seaboard Foods, to keep our pantries stocked,” says Hardison. “In addition, thanks to Seaboard Foods’ donation, those we serve throughout our 21-county service area are able to enjoy a broader selection of premium meat for their families. It also saves Catholic Charities from having to purchase food from our food banks and wholesale distributors. Money not spent on the purchase of food is money that can be spent on programs and services to help families move out of poverty.”

The donation to Catholic Charities wraps up a year of giving by Seaboard Foods and its employees. In addition to this most recent food donation, the company provided fresh pork throughout the year to Operation BBQ Relief (OBR) to use during deployments. OBR provides hot meals to those who have been affected by disasters and in August 2016 served its 1 millionth meal since the organization started in 2011. With the pork supplied to support this year’s deployments in West Monroe and Hammond, La., West Virginia, and North Carolina., Operation BBQ Relief served nearly 260,000 meals with PrairieFresh® Premium Pork – a product of Seaboard Foods.
Seaboard Foods also donated 15,000 servings of hams to Loaves & Fishes, a food pantry serving Texas County, Okla., at the start of the holiday season in November. Seaboard Foods has plant operations and farms located in Texas County and the Oklahoma Panhandle.

With operations in six states — Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Texas, Iowa and Missouri — Seaboard Foods supports more than 200 charities and civic organizations annually with pork and financial donations, ranging from pork donations for community fundraisers to cash donations for community projects, such as county fairground and playground improvements.

“We are committed to supporting the communities where our employees live and work, and customers do business. We consider it an honor to support such worthwhile organizations, such as Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas and Operation BBQ Relief,” says David Eaheart, director of communications and marketing for Seaboard Foods. “They are doing hard work that’s making a real difference in our local communities and throughout the country, and it’s a privilege to provide assistance to the dedicated volunteers of these organizations as they set out to accomplish their missions.”

As a connected food system, Seaboard Foods cares for and raises pigs to produce safe, quality pork to feed people. The company has operations in six states and employs more than 5,000 people who oversee every step of production from raising and caring for the pigs to processing pork. The company is a top U.S. pork producer and processor and a leading exporter of U.S. pork to more than 30 countries. Its products are sold under the PrairieFresh® Premium Pork, Daily’s® Premium Meats, Seaboard Farms® and 67th Street BBQ™ made with Sweet Baby Ray’s® brands. In addition, Seaboard Foods’ subsidiary, High Plains Bioenergy, has biodiesel, biogas and compressed natural gas operations. Because its pork products are served on tables throughout the world, Seaboard Foods fosters a culture of asking why and is committed to constantly doing better in the way it raises and care for pigs for food every step of the way from before the farm to beyond the fork.

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About Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas

Founded in 1956, Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas is a nonprofit, faith-based health and human services agency that assists annually people of all faiths in our community. Catholic Charities serves 21 counties in northeast Kansas with service site locations in Atchison, Emporia, Lawrence, Leavenworth, Kansas City, KS, Olathe, Overland Park, Topeka and two traveling Resource Buses. Our goal is to offer tangible hope to our neighbors in need by helping families move from a situation of poverty and anxiety to one of self-sufficiency and stability. For more information, please visit catholiccharitiesks.org.

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