The Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation and Iowa Select Farms recently celebrated their 13th year of the Operation Christmas Meal program. The charitable program has provided over two million meals to 690,000 families across Iowa. This year alone, over 60 tons of pork loins were given to families from Dec 1 through Dec 14. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported a 9.5 percent increase in meat prices from 2021 to 2022. That percentage increased even more during 2023. Working alongside Operation Christmas Meal was another program, Ignite the Spirit, which got school-based service groups involved in aiding Iowan families in battling against hunger. Ignite The Spirit awarded 80 FFA chapters, 4-H groups, and other school-based organizations with cases of pork loin and $500 to aid the youth in hosting their community meal or any other ideas they developed on fighting hunger right in their community. The 80 participating groups are a record from the 50 that participated in 2022. The donations can be used to prepare a community meal, create and deliver holiday food baskets, host a food drive, or help the participating organizations devise their own idea to give families a holiday meal this season. The Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation hopes to beat that new record again next year and continue reaching out to more Iowa families.
