NEW ALBANY, Ohio – The Ohio Pork Council (OPC) has made donations totaling $8,000 in recent weeks to two food banks and a restaurant in northern Ohio.

In June, the organization – which has about 2,500 members – gave $3,000 to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. In May, OPC donated $3,000 to the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank, and $2,000 to the SAME Café.

The OPC makes donations for either pork products or cash donations for the purchase of pork, Mike King, OPC senior director of communications and public relations, told Farm World.

“Ohio’s pig farmers, like most in agriculture, like to give something back to their communities and states,” he explained. “For us, providing pork for those in need simply helps demonstrate the commitment the pork industry has, which is often collectively referred to as the We Care ethical principles. This is a nearly 20-year-old initiative that tries to tie all the values that pork producers have together, including community outreach.

“Of course, the other reason is to get more pork protein into the forefront of today’s consumers as a nutritious, sustainable protein choice. This program, which may go by other names in other states, is done annually in Ohio as a budget item.”

King said OPC is always looking for new partners, such as SAME Café, but it has often had longstanding partnerships in the food-relief space with organizations such as the Toledo and Cleveland food banks.

The Greater Cleveland Food Bank – the largest hunger relief organization in northeast Ohio – serves Ashland, Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake and Richland counties, according to an OPC release. The food bank serves on average 35,000 people annually, the release noted.

The Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank serves Defiance, Fulton, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Williams and Wood counties. Over the past 40 years, the food bank has distributed more than 100 million pounds of food and grocery products, the release said.

The SAME (So All May Eat) Café in Toledo is the nation’s second; the first opened in Denver, Colo., in 2006. It is a donation-based, fair exchange restaurant that serves healthy food to everyone, regardless of ability to pay, according to the release.

A $3,000 level of donation, depending on the type of cut purchased, fresh or processed, would create about 9,000 meals, King said.

“OPC has been making pork donations to worthy non-profit organizations for over 30 years, so it’s not a new program, but one that takes on special importance during tough times,” he noted.

Karen Pozna, director of communications and events for the Cleveland food bank, said in the release, “I can’t stress enough how important these donations are to make sure that we’re getting the food out to the people who need it the most. The need is still greater than ever.”

The Toledo food bank is appreciative of the donation and for the ongoing relationship it has with OPC, James Caldwell, president and CEO of the food bank, said in the release.

“In being part of this organization for 30 years, I can tell you that working with our state’s farmers for donations like this makes a difference in our ability to serve those in need in our eight-county area,” he said.