Farmers donate 30,000 pounds of pork ribs to Second Harvest Heartland
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (FOX 9) - Midwest farmers donated 30,000 pounds of pork ribs to Second Harvest Heartland in an effort to help those struggling to put food on the table amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a release, Minnesota Farmers Union and Farmers Union Enterprises joined forces to donate 30,000 pounds of Redwood Farms pork ribs to Second Harvest Heartland's Brooklyn Park facility.
Redwood Farms is a meat processing facility part of FUE’s family of businesses, Farmers Union Industries, based in Estherville, Iowa. Normally, it supplies pork products to restaurants in major cities across the United States. As these restaurants have had to shut their doors because of the pandemic, Redwood Farms was faced a decrease in pork demand.
“Donating pork to Second Harvest Heartland is a win for all of us,” MFU President Gary Wertish said in the release. “People in need of food assistance will be able to get healthy, delicious pork, and Redwoods Farms is able to continue processing meat from family farmers and keep people employed. Additionally, I’d like to thank Second Harvest for their long-standing commitment to feeding Minnesotans and supplying fresh food from Minnesota’s family farmers.”
The dividends from FUI businesses help fund Farmers Union organizations in North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, South Dakota and Wisconsin, the states that make up FUE. Funds also go towards FUE programs and National Farmers Union. FUE is donating a total of 150,000 pounds of Redwood Farms pork ribs to food pantries in the five states.