Hy-Vee Helps Donate More Than 40,000 Lbs. of Protein to Food Bank
Hy-Vee has partnered with Farmland Foods to help fight food insecurity across Omaha, Neb., through a donation of more than 40,000 pounds of protein to the Food Bank for the Heartland. This is the equivalent of more than 160,000 servings of protein, which is one of the most valuable resources that the food bank distributes.
"Hy-Vee is proud to operate under the same philosophy as Farmland, as we join together to help support the communities where we work and live," said Craig Todd, district store director for Hy-Vee. "This donation to the Food Bank for the Heartland is especially crucial, now more than ever, to provide our fellow neighbors with essential provisions to help fight food insecurity following a heartbreaking year."
The donation is part of Farmland parent company Smithfield Foods Inc.'s Helping Hungry Homes initiative, which was created in 2008 to fight hunger and food insecurity in local communities across the country. Since then, the company has donated more than 215 million servings of protein to food banks, community outreach programs and disaster-relief efforts in all 50 states.
"We are tremendously grateful to the teams at Smithfield Foods, Farmland and Hy-Vee for their continued support of our mission at Food Bank for the Heartland," said Brian Barks, president and CEO for Omaha-based Food Bank for the Heartland. "Protein-rich foods play an important role in our fight against hunger, especially during this critical time. This generous donation will help us provide more healthy meals to more families in need – allowing them to focus, work, live and thrive."
As part of the donation event at Food Bank for the Heartland, a Farmland food truck also supplied meals to essential food bank employees and volunteers.
Employee-owned Hy-Vee operates more than 280 retail stores across eight Midwestern states. The West Des Moines, Iowa-based company is No. 34 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
