SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — In an effort to get valuable protein further into our local Illinois communities, the Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA) again hosted a “Pass the Bacon” campaign this past week in honor of October Pork Month.
To kick-off the month of celebration related to the pork industry, IPPA recruited nominations in two ways to find local food pantry establishments in need of protein. In the first wave, 25 winners were randomly selected from a social media post on the IPPA Facebook page where it asked followers to comment with their local food pantry. The recipients are as follows:
- Ball Chatham Food Pantry, Chatham
- Cass County Food Pantry, Virginia
- Clifton Community Food Pantry, Clifton
- Colona Township Food Pantry, Colona
- Community Action food Pantry, Lincoln
- COPE Food Pantry, Metropolis
- Edinburg Food Pantry, Edinburg
- Freeburg Food Pantry, Freeburg
- Green Bean Food Pantry, Trenton
- Hands of Christ Food Pantry, Paxton
- Highland Area Christian Service Ministry, Highland
- Home Sweet Home Ministries, Bloomington
- Jacksonville Area Community Food Center, Jacksonville
- Kewanee Food Pantry, Kewanee
- Koinonia Food Pantry, Lacon
- Marengo Food Pantry, Marengo
- Marion Ministerial Alliance, Marion
- MAS Food Pantry, Flanagan
- Neighborhood Care Center, Clinton
- New Hope Christian Church Food Pantry, Bridgeport
- St. Francis Food Pantry, Quincy
- St. Francis Food Pantry, Quincy
- Taylorville Food Pantry, Taylorville
- The Hope Chest, Pekin
- Washington WHIP Food Pantry, Washington
- WUMC Loves and Fish Food Pantry, Saybrook
In the second wave, IPPA gave Illinois legislators an opportunity to nominate their local pantry as well. The following 36 winners are also receiving a bacon donation:
- A Just Harvest, nominated by: Rep. Kelly Cassidy
- Chester Area Christian Food Pantry, nominated by: Rep. David Friess
- Club Apaseo El Alto, nominated by: Rep. Rita Mayfield
- Common Pantry, nominated by: Rep. Ann Williams
- Crisis Food Center, nominated by: Rep. Amy Elik
- Cuba Township Food Pantry, nominated by: Rep. Martin McLaughlin
- Downers Grove Food Pantry, nominated by: Senator John Curran
- Edward G. Irvin Food Pantry, nominated by: Rep. Lamont Robinson
- Elmhurst-Yorkfield Food Pantry, nominated by: Rep. Deanne Mazzochi
- Empower Boone Food Pantry, nominated by: Senator Dave Syverson
- FISH of Galesburg, nominated by: Rep. Dan Swanson
- Gibson Area Food Pantry, nominated by: Rep. Thomas Bennett
- Glen-Ed Food Pantry, nominated by: Rep. Katie Stuart
- Holy Family Logan Catholic Food Pantry, nominated by: Senator Sally Turner
- Hope Collective Food Pantry, nominated by: Rep. Chris Bos
- Irvington Food Pantry, nominated by: Rep. Charlie Meier
- Kankakee County Community Services, nominated by: Rep. Jackie Haas
- Kendall County Community Food Pantry, nominated by: Rep. Keith Wheeler
- Lazarus House, nominated by: Rep. Dan Ugaste
- Loaves and Fishes Aurora, nominated by: Senator Laura Ellman
- Loaves and Fishes Naperville, nominated by: Senator Linda Holmes
- Lombard-Villa Food Pantry, nominated by: Rep. Terra Costa Howard
- Neighbors Food Pantry of Wonder Lake, nominated by: Rep. Steven Reick
- Niles Township Food Pantry, nominated by: Senator Ram Villivalam
- Northern Illinois Food Bank, nominated by: Senator Larry Walsh
- Northfield Township Food Pantry, nominated by: Senator Laura Fine
- Northside Solidarity Network, nominated by: Rep. Will Guzzardi
- Pekin Outreach, nominated by: Rep. Mark Luft
- Pilsen Food Pantry, nominated by: Rep. Theresa Mah
- Roselle UMC Community Food Pantry, nominated by: Rep. Michelle Mussman
- Savana Food Pantry, nominated by: Rep. Tony McCombie
- St. Andrew Lutheran Church, nominated by: Rep. Maura Hirschauer
- Sycamore Food Pantry – Sycamore United Methodist Church, nominated by: Rep. Jeff Keicher
- The M.O.R.E Center, nominated by: Senator Craig Wilcox
- Vernon Township Food Pantry, nominated by: Rep. Daniel Didech
- West Deerfield Township Food Pantry, nominated by: Senator Julie Morrison
In a thank you message from State Representative Terra Costa Howard, thanking IPPA for gifting the Lombard/Villa Park Food Pantry with bacon, she shared that their service area has had a significant increase of clients and yet the donations have not been able to keep pace with the need. “We appreciate the donation and know it will be put to good use,” says Costa Howard.
October is known as “Pork Month” because it marked the time of year when hogs were traditionally marketed. Now, in 2021, farmers are shipping market-ready hogs to processing at all times of the year. We use October as a time to continue celebrating our pork producers and the delicious protein they raise.
— Illinois Pork Producers Association
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