When calamities arise from fallouts like the pandemic COVID-19, the most affected people hurt while those not so much reach out and help.
“Recently at Faith Temple in Sioux Falls, SD, Pipestone arranged for 10 pounds of pork to go with each family’s box, totalling a 7,000-pound donation,” said Sylvia Wolters of Pipestone Holdings, Pipestone, SD.
Every visitor was able to have pork loin, pork tenderloin and ground pork as well as some pork recipes to try at home. The pork funds to make the pork donations possible came from Pipestone with contributions from WholeStone Farms and SAM Nutrition.
Wolters, one of the organizers of the event that fed 750 families, many of whom had nothing to eat. Pipestone Holdings is a pig and veterinary animal health company that reaches across seven states in the Midwest, doing management for family farmers and their sows across the Midwest.
She said this pork give away started with big hearts, a caring attitude, and a desire to give back to the needy in the area. But within this COVID-19 experience, they reached out further and provide some protein into areas where people may be out of a job, strapped for cash, and never had the experience of being hungry.
Wolters reached out to several people, Sioux Falls, South Dakota is within an hour of their office. Faith Temple has a food pantry giveaway every Friday. They provided pork for all the families that came through that day.
“We had 750 families that came through today, and every family received the box that would feed about three to four people,” said Wolters. “We provided about seven to 10 pounds of pork in every box for every family including ground pork, pork tenderloins, and pork loin. We raised and put them in the hands of someone who much needed them.”
The other important factor raised the importance and tells the story being part of an industry that raises food for a living every single day.
“It’s very rewarding on multiple levels because we are able to provide the country, our nation, our people, our world with good quality food, and we specialize in pork,” she said. “Today, we gave it away to people who can’t afford to purchase it. But every day we love our animals, we take care of them well, we feed them, and we care for them because they are what feeds us. So that’s our passion, that’s our ministry, to be able to provide this service.”
Wolters said everybody is facing a challenging time right now, including the farmers, and everybody will pitch in and do their part to pull out of this. “May you continue to reach out to help others if you can, but also reach out with an empty hand when in need of help. We are in this together.” •
— By Harry Siemens