Penokean Hills Farms is donating more than 1,500 pounds of ground beef to food banks and organizations in Sault Ste. Marie and surrounding areas.
The Bruce Mines-based farmers’ beef co-operative lowered prices on its ground beef for a five-day period last week, pledging to donate a pound of ground beef to food banks and organizations for every pound sold to customers.
Nick Gordon, sales and marketing manager for Penokean Hills Farms, tells SooToday the retail value of the donated ground beef is over $11,000.
“With the whole COVID situation, and going into the third lockdown and heading into the Easter break, we just felt there’s a lot of discouragement or things to bring you down, and we wanted to put something together to help the community, whether it be through everyday consumers wanting to buy beef, or to organizations that could really have a need for beef,” said Gordon. “We just really wanted to focus on doing something uplifting for the community.”
Penokean Hills Farms will distribute 1,520 pounds of ground beef to the following organizations and food banks within the next couple of weeks:
- ARCH Hospice - 220 lbs.
- Teen Challenge Ontario North Men’s Centre - 300 lbs.
- Sault Ste. Marie Soup Kitchen Community Centre- 300 lbs.
- St. Vincent Place - 300 lbs.
- Harvest Algoma - 300 lbs.
- St. Joseph Island and Area Food Bank - 50 lbs.
- Thessalon Food Bank - 50 lbs.
Gordon says the farmer’s cattle co-operative is happy to help address food security issues locally that have been brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It feels good,” said Gordon. “I think being in the farming and food processing industry, you have to realize how important that is, as far as stewardship and just making sure that food is healthy and available to people.”