VERONA ― The Wisconsin Beef Council presented Feeding Wisconsin with a $4,500 donation to purchase beef for families in need.
“The Wisconsin Beef Council on behalf of our beef and dairy farmers is really proud to make this donation to Feeding Wisconsin to help the foodbanks across our state,” Wisconsin Beef Council Executive Director Tammy Vaassen said. “We know that having beef on the plate brings such a valuable, nutritious source for zinc, iron and protein to our consumers, so ensuring that all consumers have access to beef is very important to our organization.”
This donation is part of a commitment from the Wisconsin Beef Council and partners Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation and the Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center to donate proceeds from the 2nd Annual Burgers & Buns Fun Run. Nearly 150 participants competed in-person and virtually to celebrate May Beef Month and salute Wisconsin Beef farmers. The in-person event took place at the Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center Saturday, May 14. Those participating virtually had until May 31 to finish the 5K.
“This donation has been so impactful, especially during the course of the pandemic,” Feeding Wisconsin Executive Director Stephanie Jung Dorfman said. “The funds that we have been able to raise during this time have allowed for us to make these purchases of protein which are so essential to the families that come through pantries and is often a resource, often a food that is not always purchased. It just means so much to families to be able to have a whole, well-rounded meal in a way that they may if they had more financial resources.”
Feeding Wisconsin is the state association of the six regional Feeding America affiliated food banks that provide food to almost 1,000 local food programs in all 72 Wisconsin counties. Together, Feeding Wisconsin’s network provided 86 million pounds of food to Wisconsinites in 2021, an increase of 75 percent over 2019.
The $4,500 donation will be distributed to regional foodbanks to purchase Wisconsin grown and produced beef, according to Jung Dorfman.