Tell Oklahoma Pork About Your Farm's History

In 2026, the Oklahoma Pork Council will proudly celebrate 35 years serving our state's swine industry. One special element to our organization's history is how many leaders and friends of Oklahoma Pork have remained passionately involved with pork production throughout many of those years. Those folks, alongside many of us who have joined the fun along the way, have countless lessons and laughs that deserve to be remembered. 

Our board and staff have already been dreaming on fun ways to celebrate the past and look to the future throughout 2026 when marking this special anniversary, but we need your help! Whether your favorite memory of Oklahoma's pork industry involves one show pig decades ago or proudly caring for thousands of pigs today - we would love to hear your perspective.

Starting with Pork Month right now and continuing throughout the coming months into the new year, we are collecting stories, photos, and coaching from our members and friends to commemorate all that has happened for Oklahoma pork production since 1991. Take a few moments to reflect on your own pork journey and the farms and friends who helped get you where you are today. Then, please feel free to send us a note, give us a call, or share those memories however you prefer as we begin the official celebrations of "35 Years of Oklahoma Pork" in 2026! Cheers to an impressive past and a bright future helping to feed the world!

Social Challenge Posts Continue to Snowball

As Oklahoma's Give-A-Ham strategy has expanded to focus more on community involvement and high-impact donations, we continue to appreciate the faithful pork producers and supporters who step up to make "ham-to-ham" social posts that increase pork on plates across the state this holiday season.

Over the past two weeks, encouraging challenges initiated by our board and staff have truly branched out in a phenomenal way to loop in dozens of Oklahomans and some of our favorite friends living outside our state. Here are just a few more fun Give-A-Ham posts we loved seeing over the past week: Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell, Kass Newell from the Oklahoma Youth Expo, Tre and Stacie Smith, Oklahoma Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, Ron Hays and the Oklahoma Agriculture Leadership Program, Oklahoma CareerTech Director Brent Haken, Holly Carroll and Megan Knight from the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Federation, and so many others! Also, if you're looking for a smile (and a reminder how much fun work can be), check out the always funny Blue and Gold Sausage Co. crew's Give-A-Ham video here!

Enjoy these leaders' engaging challenge posts to then get inspired to give yourself in the next week. There is still time to participate before the campaign wraps up on Christmas Eve. Click here to get all the details from our Give-A-Ham page where you can even easily cover the cost of one ham to donate if giving directly in your own community may not be possible this holiday season!

More Free Meals From Farmers Bring Joy

The journey to 3,000 free pork meals in different regions of the state before Christmas is nearing an end as Oklahoma Pork added Tecumseh and Lawton to our heartfelt Give-A-Ham tour this week. Both of the latest stops upheld the trend of incredible local support and deeply grateful community members. What a blessing it is for us to serve farmers who prioritize giving and consistently make such a delicious, nutritious product for the world to enjoy. 

On Tuesday of this week, we joined great friends from Gilbert Insurance and Kennedy Ventures to share 300 delicious pulled pork lunches with Tecumseh residents alongside our steady partners Newman's Firehouse BBQ and Ozarka Water. A little wind did not deter community leaders, former Pork Industry Group students, and additional friends from rolling up their sleeves to help spread cheer on behalf of Oklahoma's pork producers. Then in Lawton on Wednesday, we had fun again serving alongside our friends from Newman's and Ozarka once again to distribute another 300 delicious meals. In Lawton, it was also special to have State Representative Daniel Pae join us to share lunches and our coziest Oklahoma Pork swag to the folks who excitedly received their tasty meals. 

Next Monday marks our last official stop on the 2026 Give-A-Ham Free Community Lunch Tour, when we will trek west to Leedey where 300 hot meals will be shared from 11 a.m. until sold out. If you are in the area, we would love for you to stop by. Don't forget these festive community events represent just one part of the Give-A-Ham excitement. Through our ongoing social media challenges and the action of invested industry leaders like you -there are countless other ways to promote pork while serving your community in the next week.

Visit the Oklahoma Pork Council Give-A-Ham page here to see more details and to let us know how you plan to give back this holiday season. You can also keep up with the challenge via Oklahoma Pork's social media pages to view details and recaps for each event, and tag us in your own plans to spread cheer before Christmas Eve!

100+ Passionate Students Join Give-A-Ham Fun

Now a popular highlight during our annual month of giving, more than 100 fantastic 4-H, FFA, and OSU youth joined the Oklahoma Pork Council to participate in the Give-A-Ham Challenge with a hands-on volunteer shift filled with memorable Christmas costumes, big energy, and holiday cheer. Whether they came by bus from the panhandle or popped in from just down the road, these eager next generation leaders joined us last Friday to volunteer at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma (RFBO) and celebrate pork producers' special $10,000 donation to the Pork for Packs Program.

Our energetic crew of volunteers worked with frozen bulk potatoes for RFBO's Backpacks Program - which is affiliated with our industry's Pork for Packs initiative. Pork for Packs utilizes donated hogs from Oklahoma 4-H and FFA members to create protein sticks for elementary students at risk of hunger. The pork sticks are distributed within the Backpacks Program to meet a real need by supplementing protein on weekends and holidays when school feeding programs are unavailable. Between the Regional Food Bank and the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, the program serves almost 600 schools in all 77 Oklahoma counties, providing backpacks of kid-friendly, non-perishable food to more than 35,000 chronically hungry children each week. 

Some of the many hard-working volunteers who joined the fun included the full staff from Blue & Gold Sausage Co, a majority of the Oklahoma State FFA Officers, several OSU Pork Industry Group alums, and pig-loving 4-H and FFA members from many communities. Over the course of our afternoon of high efficiency potato-packing, we were proud to prepare a total of 10,700 meals through thousands of ready-to-cook chopped potato servings for hungry neighbors.

While these excited young people came together to serve, the Oklahoma Pork Council also took the opportunity to celebrate our board donating $10,000 this December to help cover processing costs of Pork for Packs donated animals in 2026. We are proud to continue celebrating the generosity of pig farmers and a strong partnership with our state food banks! Do you wish you could have joined our meaningful day at RFBO? Click here to see a variety of great ways to support their mission this holiday season!

Ham-to-Ham Challenges Keep Pork in Spotlight

When the national Give-A-Ham Challenge began several years ago, it was really centered on social media posts individually tapping folks to support pork production by donating a single ham within their own communities. As Oklahoma Pork has continued to evolve our efforts in this campaign each December, we have spent much of our energy on feeding as many people as possible with free community meals and large-scale donations as highlighted in both stories above.

But as our Oklahoma Give-A-Ham focus has expanded, we are still thrilled to have phenomenal champions within agriculture and beyond participate in the "ham-to-ham" social posts that get hundreds of people involved in giving while shining a much deserved light on our industry during the holiday season.

After Oklahoma Pork's board president Tom Layne kicked off the 2025 challenge alongside Governor Kevin Stitt two weeks ago, we have already seen social media erupt with dozens of smiling faces proudly displaying their pork items to donate and tagging others to keep the fun going.

Just a few of the many special Give-A-Ham posts we have enjoyed seeing so far (in addition to our phenomenal board leaders who all participate in special ways) include: Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur, Oklahoma Speaker of the House Kyle Hilbert, OSU leaders Dean Jayson Lusk and Department Head Richard Coffey, Greg Livingston from Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma, brand new Oklahoma Veterinary Medicine Association Executive Director Rosemarie Strong, and so many others. 

Check out these leaders' engaging challenge posts to then get inspired to give yourself. There is still time plenty of time to participate before the campaign wraps up on Christmas Eve. Click here to get all the details from our Give-A-Ham page where you can even easily cover the cost of one ham to donate if giving directly in your own community may not be possible this holiday season!

Free Community Meals Continue Across State

What an incredible blessing it is for the Oklahoma Pork Council to spend most days between Thanksgiving and Christmas giving on-the-go and coordinating pork donations of all sizes thanks to the unrelenting generosity of our farmers. 

As we work to give more than 3,000 free pork meals in different regions of the state before Christmas, we have already enjoyed fantastic community giving days in Enid, Okemah, Woodward, and Bristow during the past two weeks. These giveaways continue to set a beautiful example of cooperation with devoted partners like Ozarka Water joining us at every stop and various local organizations stepping up to help us give in a big way across Oklahoma. Together we are accomplishing something truly special this holiday season!

Last Friday, our crew enjoyed serving in Okemah after the town proudly won our social media poll for a Give-A-Ham community feeding event that received more than 2,000 total comments on our Oklahoma Pork Facebook page. Thank you to our selfless annual sponsor Blue & Gold Sausage for donating product to share with our friends in Okemah. On Monday of this week in Woodward, we were fortunate to work alongside Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma to keep the warm meals coming with assistance from generous Woodward partners Barber-Dyson Ford and ENJ Financial. Then in Bristow on Thursday, we were grateful for donated pork from Seaboard Foods to help collaborators like Newman's BBQ, Hunger Free Oklahoma, Bristow Social Services, and Crown AutoWorld make the event a true success. Oklahoma's Speaker of the House Kyle Hilbert also joined us in Bristow, which was a fun show of support from one of our state's top policymakers who has been a true advocate for Oklahoma Pork and agriculture as a whole. 

Check out several remaining special events on the 2025 Give-A-Ham highlight schedule below. All our free community lunches are first come, first served and usually "sell out" in 30 to 60 minutes with 300+ meals served. So come early and hungry if you want to join us! 

• Tuesday, December 16 – 300 Free Pork Lunches to be Given in Tecumseh 

• Wednesday, December 17 – 300 Free Pork Lunches to be Given in Lawton

• Monday, December 22 – 300 Free Pork Lunches to be Given in Leedey

Remember these festive community lunches represent just one part of the Give-A-Ham excitement. Through our ongoing social media challenge and the action of invested industry leaders like you - we know there will be hundreds of donations made throughout Oklahoma this month.

Visit the Oklahoma Pork Council Give-A-Ham page here to see more details, and to let us know how you plan to give back this holiday season. You can also keep up with the challenge via Oklahoma Pork's social media pages to see specific details for each event, and tag us in your own acts of pork generosity!

Seaboard Foods Makes Historic Give-A-Ham Donation

With our month of giving in full swing, Seaboard Foods rose to the occasion in an incredible way to feed thousands of Oklahomans this holiday season. On Wednesday, several Seaboard producers joined Oklahoma Pork and a room full of community partners to celebrate a record-setting 40,000 pound Prairie Fresh pork donation to the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. 

The donated pork will provide delicious, quality protein to thousands of Oklahomans this holiday season. Our friends at the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma made sure our pork producers knew how special this historic gift was by planning a tasty pork lunch, an informative panel discussion led by recipient organizations, and a tour of the recently renovated food bank for more than 30 folks who joined Seaboard Foods and Oklahoma Pork to unpack the full truckload of product and discuss the incredible impact this donation will make. 

“At Seaboard Foods, we care deeply about nourishing communities and supporting our Oklahoma neighbors, especially during the holidays when the need is greatest,” said David Eaheart, senior director of communications and brand marketing at Seaboard Foods when reflecting on the event. “Through the Oklahoma Pork Council’s Give-A-Ham campaign, we’re honored to donate a truckload of wholesome and delicious Oklahoma pork to the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. We hope this helps families enjoy comforting and nutritious meals this holiday season.”

A special thanks to board members Roy Cansler and Dr. Donna Drebes for their leadership in this year's Give-A-Ham Challenge. Additionally, Oklahoma Pork commends Seaboard leaders including Davida Gomez, David Eaheart, and others who helped make this incredible gift happen. Keep reading for more highlights from the 2025 Give-A-Ham campaign so far, and stay tuned on our social media pages to follow even more of the joy giving to our neighbors truly brings!

Oklahoma Pork Educates Dietitians About Pig Farming

Thanks to thoughtful relationship building with nutrition experts like the "Dirt Road Dietitian" Sheri Glazier, Oklahoma Pork has expanded our reach the last few years to connect with registered dietitians and other nutrition professionals to promote the many benefits of pork to broader audiences. 

Recently, Oklahoma Pork board member Cathy Vaughan, executive director Kylee Deniz, and digital content creator Shay Stegmann took advantage of one of these unique opportunities by spending the day with registered dietitians as they learned more about Oklahoma agriculture in Tulsa. The GROWN Conference brought more than 20 diet and nutrition professionals together to learn about commercial pork production, cook a pork meal alongside a professional chef, tour a lettuce farm, visit a coffee roastery, and more. GROWN's slogan of "Where Oklahoma's agriculture and nutrition experts meet" proved true throughout the day where our Oklahoma Pork leaders got to advocate and bond with this health-focused group.

For Cathy, two of the most interesting parts of Oklahoma Pork's day at GROWN were fielding unique questions from this group of food experts with little agriculture knowledge and seeing how many similarities exist between modern pork production and hydroponic lettuce farming. GROWN serves as a great reminder to us all that there are always new opportunities to teach and always new opportunities to learn as well. 

A heartfelt thanks to Cathy and our Oklahoma Pork staff members for representing our industry well at the 2025 GROWN Conference. Check out more from the Dirt Road Dietitian here.

Celebrating Students and Their Pork Workforce Ideas

Members of the 2025 Pork Industry Group completed their leadership experience by presenting workforce ideas to the Oklahoma Pork Council Board of Directors at the Pork Industry Group Banquet at Oklahoma State University (OSU) in Stillwater. The students, board members, and several special guests then enjoyed a celebratory pork dinner reflecting on the fun and educational program over the past semester.

The students shared creative suggestions for addressing the labor shortage within pork, especially as our industry seeks to recruit the next generation of agriculture enthusiasts. This year's innovative list of student ideas that could be implemented by the Oklahoma Pork Council or by our producers included: next generation social media "ambassadors" to produce authentic and engaging content exposing their peers to pork careers; a life-size, interactive board game for students to explore different pork production career paths; a robust pork industry scholarship program with guaranteed employment after graduation; and, hands-on "Swine in a Box" educational kits for Oklahoma teachers at various learning levels. Our board and staff are excited to use this imaginative feedback to continue evolving our "Workforce at All Levels" strategic intention efforts.

Pork Industry Group would not be possible without OSU's Dr. Scott Carter who volunteers his time and expertise as our faculty advisor. He is a critical resource as an ex-officio board member and industry expert for the Oklahoma Pork Council! The banquet provided an opportunity to thank Dr. Carter and our campus liaison Ethan Drake for behind-the-scenes support to run the weekly sessions alongside Oklahoma Pork staff the past few months. 

As the night concluded, the Oklahoma Pork Council presented nine student scholarships to deserving next generation leaders. Members of the "Operation: Oink" team including Maysen Garrett, Carmen Kuiper, Brody Wallis, Kyra Cole, and Jacey Bordwine were awarded "Outstanding Group Project" for their "Personalize Pork" educational social media concept. Individual scholarships were awarded as well, including: Carmen Kuiper - Overall Outstanding Student; Giffin Henry - Speaker's Choice; Future Producer - Brody Wallis; and, Banquet All-Star - Rachel Swinford. Thanks to Dr. Jared Harshman of Huvepharma, Inc, and Tre and Stacie Smith for sponsoring some of the night's financial awards alongside the Oklahoma Pork Council to these impressive students! 

Our team truly appreciates everyone involved in making Pork Industry Group so rewarding. We have cherished the opportunity to mentor these passionate young people, and we look forward to being a longterm resource as they continue their academic and career journeys. We are grateful for countless ways OSU's work complements that of Oklahoma's pork industry, and we look forward to another year of collaboration in 2026.

Celebrating Students and Their Pork Workforce Ideas

Governor Stitt Joins Enid Give-A-Ham Launch

On Giving Tuesday this week, Board President Tom Layne set the 2025 Oklahoma Pork Council Give-A-Ham Challenge in motion by hosting a generous free feeding event in Enid alongside a fantastic group of community partners.

Tom brought together the Oklahoma Pork Council, The HANOR Company, Our Daily Bread, the United Way, the Salvation Army, and Ozarka Water for our most collaborative Give-A-Ham event in history. This devoted group of helpers worked together to prepare 1,000 free pork meals for Enid residents, including Our Daily Bread clients inside the organization's dining room and those who joined our drive-through meal pick-up line.

Another way this year's event proved extra special was the fact that Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt joined the fun. As his seventh year to participate in Oklahoma Pork's Give-A-Ham Challenge, we were excited to have him not only spread the challenge with a social media video alongside Tom Layne, but also to personally join us to pass out meals at the Enid launch event and champion the great work done by Oklahoma pork producers all year long. 

Thanks in part to helpful volunteers from HANOR and the state legislature, the Oklahoma Pork Council also distributed cozy giveaways like branded hand warmers, gloves, hats, bags, and more while sharing pork's story of generous giving with those who came by for a free meal. A special shout out to VIPs like HANOR's Mauricio Diaz, Keith Reiner, State Senator Roland Pederson, State Representative Chad Caldwell, and countless others who made the day an incredible success.

Between now and Christmas, we encourage all our members to take part in the Give-A-Ham Challenge. Donate a holiday ham to your local food bank, deliver a pork meal to a neighbor, volunteer at a charity you support, or meet another need you see in your community. The "Giving Season" is the perfect time to spread generosity and make a small difference at the local level. Share your participation by posting a photo or video on social media using #GiveAHam and #OKPork, or click here to let us know how you #GiveAHam this December!