Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig recently announced that 37,008 pounds of Iowa-grown turkey bologna was delivered to three Iowa food banks. Food pantries served by the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Riverbend Food Bank and Hawkeye Area Community Action Program will start distributing the turkey bologna to Iowans soon. Another 37,044 pounds of turkey bologna will be delivered to other Iowa food banks in late October.
Iowa raises approximately 12 million turkeys annually, according to the Iowa Turkey Federation. Iowa-grown turkey primarily can be purchased in grocery stores and quick-service restaurants. When sandwich chains saw a decrease in demand due to COVID-19, Iowa’s turkey farmers saw a direct impact to their markets. This program helps fill the void that was caused by the lack of demand during the pandemic.
More than 1,200 partner agencies, including food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and schools are a part of the Iowa Food Bank’s partner agency network, all operating under one of six food banks within the state which covers all 99 counties in Iowa.
This program is an initiative of Gov. Reynolds’ Feeding Iowans Task Force led by Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg. In addition to the turkey purchases that have been completed, Secretary Naig and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship have administered other Feeding Iowans Task Force initiatives, including Pass the Pork, Beef Up Iowa, and Pack the Pantry, all of which help connect Iowa farmers with food bank feeding programs.
