BIDDEFORD — On Tuesday morning, truckloads of hot dogs ”“ 40,000 pounds worth ”“ were sitting in a truck waiting to be unloaded and eventually distributed to Maine’s food pantries, soup kitchens and other locations where food is provided to Maine’s hungry.
The franks, which amount to 160,000 servings, were donated by Smithfield Foods, based in Smithfield, Va., in partnership with Hannaford Supermarkets, to the Good Shepherd Food Bank’s Biddeford Distribution Center.
As part of the company’s Helping Hungry Homes program, Smithfield, one of the largest pork processing companies in the world, and its retail partners have made more than 170 donations across the country, from Florida to Alaska, over the last three years, said Smithfield spokesman Dennis Pittman.
The company makes the donations nationwide, he said, because “Smithfield feeds people.”
Throughout the country, said Pittman, there are people “who each day have to figure out, ”˜Where am I going to find enough food to feed my family?’”
The company delivers its products to food banks because “food banks help people at a time when they’re feeling low and do it with a great deal of dignity,” said Pittman.
In addition to supplying food, he said, the publicity surrounding the donation serves to raise awareness of the problem of hunger in the United States and to encourage others to give.
“We want others to also do your part,” said Pittman. “We’re Americans. We’re in this together.”
“Hunger is a big problem in the U.S. and in Maine,” said Kristen Miale, president of Good Shepherd Food Bank.
There are more than 200,000 people in Maine who are food insecure, she said; one in four children don’t know from where their next meal will come.
The donation is a huge help, she said.
The food bank, which provides food to pantries and others for free or at a greatly reduced cost, receives a lot of carbohydrate-rich donations, she said, like macaroni and cheese and other pasta products. But protein, especially something like hot dogs, which have a long shelf life, is in short supply.
In addition, she said, “we have a lot of children and seniors, and both are big fans of hot dogs.”
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
