One of the most rewarding parts of Oklahoma Pork's Give-A-Ham Challenge each year is seeing the generosity spread across our state. We love cheering on Oklahomans from every background as they step up to promote pork and give back in their own special ways.

Last Friday, the Oklahoma Pork Council got to witness that passion for giving grow in real-time within 100 young people as they joined us to volunteer at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma (RFBO) to pack meals and celebrate pork producers' special $15,000 donation to the Pork for Packs Program.

Working together, these volunteers (many of whom show pigs through 4-H or FFA) packed an impressive 9,390 meals 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 596 schools in all 77 Oklahoma counties, providing backpacks of kid-friendly, non-perishable food to more than 35,000 chronically hungry children each week.

While these 100 excited young people came together to pack meals, the Oklahoma Pork Council also took the opportunity to celebrate our board generously donating $15,000 this December to help cover 2024 processing costs of Pork for Packs donated animals. This significant contribution brings Oklahoma Pork's lifetime RFBO giving to a milestone $200,000 in total! That is certainly a legacy worth celebrating, and we look forward to continued partnership with both our food banks for many years to come.