Foster Farms Donates Turkey to Serve 140,000 Holiday Meals to West Coast Families

Food banks report high demand for protein, increased need for donations following California wildfires

LIVINGSTON, Calif. – As communities throughout Northern California recover from multiple wildfires, Foster Farms today delivered one of more than 10 truckloads of holiday turkey to food banks and community groups in California, Oregon and Washington. In total, Foster Farms will donate 126,000 pounds of turkey this holiday season, enough to serve more than 140,000 individual meals.

While the holiday donations are an annual tradition for Foster Farms, this season the family-owned company is making a special effort to help its neighbors displaced by the Northern California wildfires with a donation of $100,000  and 40,000 pounds of poultry products to Redwood Empire Food Bank in Santa Rosa. Foster Farms hopes its donations will encourage other businesses, organizations and community members to support local food banks.

Millions of West Coast families are affected by food insecurity. In California and the Pacific Northwest, more than one in eight households do not have enough to eat.[1] Food banks cite protein as one of the most-needed foods, and Foster Farms is working to provide greater access to naturally lean protein through turkey and chicken donations.

“Foster Farms has become the company it is today because of the loyalty of millions of West Coast families. We recognize that in times of adversity, we have a responsibility to step forward and return that support in kind,” said Foster Farms CEO Laura Flanagan.

The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank is one of many West Coast food banks benefitting from this year’s turkey donations. Today, Executive Director Paul Ash welcomed a delivery of 14,400 pounds of whole turkeys for local distribution. “Protein is one of the most important donations for the food bank because it is a nutritional staple for every wholesome meal. We are grateful for Foster Farms’ generous turkey donation, once again this year, which will help ensure that the Bay Area families we serve can enjoy the tradition of a satisfying Thanksgiving meal,” said Ash.

Food banks and hunger relief organizations benefiting from Foster Farms’ donations this year are:

Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank

Northwest Harvest Food Bank

Seattle

Oregon Food Bank Network

Portland

Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services

San Francisco City Impact

Second Harvest Food Bank

San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties

Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County

SF-Marin Food Bank                                       

Redwood Empire Food Bank

Santa Rosa

United Samaritans Foundation

Turlock

In December, Foster Farms will continue its hunger relief efforts as the title sponsor of the Foster Farms Bowl, partnering with Bay Area food banks to raise awareness of local hunger needs. Foster Farms Bowl donations will include thousands of pounds of chicken to San Francisco charities GLIDE and St. Anthony’s for Christmas meals, and for every Foster Farms Bowl ticket purchased, one meal will be donated to local hunger relief organizations. Tickets for the game, which will be played on December 27 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, are available at www.FosterFarmsBowl.com.

[1]“Map the Meal Gap”, Feeding America http://map.feedingamerica.org/ Coleman-Jensen, A., Rabbit, M., Gregory, C., & Singh, A (2016). Household Food Security in the United States in 2015. USDA ERS.