South Dakota Farmers Union Donates 35K Pounds of Pork

By Scout Nelson

Family farmers and ranchers dedicate their lives to feeding others, and members of South Dakota’s largest agricultural organization are showing that commitment extends to helping their neighbors. On October 17, the South Dakota Farmers Union donated 35,000 pounds of pork to Feeding South Dakota.

“Farmers and ranchers and Feeding South Dakota have a lot in common - we all spend our days doing work that feeds people,” said Doug Sombke, a Brown County farmer and President of South Dakota Farmers Union.

“This donation is the right thing for our organization to do, because right now a lot of our neighbors are struggling to feed their families. In fact, this harvest there are a lot of farmers struggling financially because the Trade War took away our soybean markets, so many of us are losing money this harvest.”

The donation comes at a critical time, according to Hailey Srtska, Vice President of Operations for Feeding South Dakota. “Protein is in high demand for the guests we serve because it is at an all-time high in the grocery store and we do not have access to protein like we typically do because of federal commodity food cuts to our program,” she said. “And with the government shutdown we expect our lines of guests to grow.”

Many South Dakotans affected include federal employees who will not receive a paycheck during the shutdown. Through Feeding South Dakota’s extensive network of partnering food pantries, the donated ham will reach rural communities across the state.

“It means so much to our organization that Farmers Union made this donation,” Srtska added. “To be able to add these hams to our menu and make this wonderful source of protein available to families across the state is huge right now.”

Photo Credit: istock-apichsn