LIVINGSTON, Calif. – As communities throughout Northern California recover from multiple wildfires, Foster Farms today delivered one of more than 10 truckloads of holiday turkey to food banks and community groups in California, Oregon and Washington. In total, Foster Farms will donate 126,000 pounds of turkey this holiday season, enough to serve more than 140,000 individual meals.
While the holiday donations are an annual tradition for Foster Farms, this season the family-owned company is making a special effort to help its neighbors displaced by the Northern California wildfires with a donation of $100,000 and 40,000 pounds of poultry products to Redwood Empire Food Bank in Santa Rosa. Foster Farms hopes its donations will encourage other businesses, organizations and community members to support local food banks.
Millions of West Coast families are affected by food insecurity. In California and the Pacific Northwest, more than one in eight households do not have enough to eat.[1] Food banks cite protein as one of the most-needed foods, and Foster Farms is working to provide greater access to naturally lean protein through turkey and chicken donations.
The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank is one of many West Coast food banks benefitting from this year’s turkey donations. Today, Executive Director Paul Ash welcomed a delivery of 14,400 pounds of whole turkeys for local distribution. “Protein is one of the most important donations for the food bank because it is a nutritional staple for every wholesome meal. We are grateful for Foster Farms’ generous turkey donation, once again this year, which will help ensure that the Bay Area families we serve can enjoy the tradition of a satisfying Thanksgiving meal.”
Food banks and hunger relief organizations benefiting from Foster Farms’ donations this year are:
Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank
Northwest Harvest Food Bank
Seattle
Oregon Food Bank Network
Portland
Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services
San Francisco City Impact
Second Harvest Food Bank
San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties
Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County
SF-Marin Food Bank
Redwood Empire Food Bank
Santa Rosa
United Samaritans Foundation
Turlock
In December, Foster Farms will continue its hunger relief efforts as the title sponsor of the Foster Farms Bowl, partnering with Bay Area food banks to raise awareness of local hunger needs. Foster Farms Bowl donations will include thousands of pounds of chicken to San Francisco charities GLIDE and St. Anthony’s for Christmas meals, and for every Foster Farms Bowl ticket purchased, one meal will be donated to local hunger relief organizations. Tickets for the game, which will be played on December 27 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, are available at www.FosterFarmsBowl.com.
About Foster Farms
Since 1939, West Coast families have depended on Foster Farms for premium quality chicken and turkey products. Family-owned and operated, the company continues its legacy of excellence and commitment to quality established by its founders, Max and Verda Foster. Foster Farms specializes in fresh, all-natural chicken and turkey products free of preservatives, additives or injected sodium enhancers. Based in California’s Central Valley, with ranches in the Pacific Northwest, the company’s fresh chicken and turkey are produced in or near each region served. Foster Farms also produces delicious pre-marinated, ready-to-cook and fully cooked products that meet the quality and convenience needs of today’s home cooks, retailers, warehouse clubs and foodservice customers. The company’s commitment to excellence, honesty, quality, service and people is a source of great pride, and, a longtime family tradition.
[1]“Map the Meal Gap”, Feeding America http://map.feedingamerica.org/ Coleman-Jensen, A., Rabbit, M., Gregory, C., & Singh, A (2016). Household Food Security in the United States in 2015. USDA ERS.
Source: Foster Farms