For the 65th consecutive year, the state’s poultry industry has made a food donation to feed Indiana’s hungry. On Tuesday, members of the Indiana State Poultry Association presented Lt. Governor Becky Skillman with a Thanksgiving Day turkey. But outside the statehouse were semi trucks loaded with tons of food being donated to food banks around the state. Skillman said this year’s donation was especially meaningful, “We are always so grateful for the donation of the State Poultry Association, but considering 2012 was an especially difficult year because of the drought this gift of over 200,000 pounds of poultry is truly meaningful.” The donation took place during a ceremony at the Statehouse outside the Lt. Governor’s office. Some of the product donations will be distributed locally through the Shepherd Community Center, and the rest of the donations will be delivered directly to local communities.
Skillman said the continued downturn in the economy means that more and more Hoosiers are facing hunger, but that there is a system in place to get food to people who need it most, “During my first year in office, I convened the first statewide food bank called FIsH, Feeding Indiana’s Hungry. Thanks to these relationships, we now have a system to distribute this food to the people who really need it.” Donations were made by: Berne Hi-Way Hatchery, Creighton Brothers, Culver Duck, Farbest Foods, Maple Leaf Farms, Midwest Poultry Services, Perdue Foods, Miller Poultry, Rose Acre Farms, Tyson Foods, and Wabash Valley Produce.
Poultry Association director Paul Brennan hold HAT that 2012 has not been a good year for poultry producers, but the state poultry industry ends the year in good shape, “The price of feed is up and is going to stay high until we get a new crop harvested and that is going to be a while, but overall the state industry is strong.” The association also continued the tradition of presenting the Lt. Governor with a custom-painted egg containing the Indiana State Seal.
The Indiana State Poultry Association is a member organization that represents more than 95 percent of the poultry producers in the state of Indiana. The poultry industry in Indiana contributes a total of more than $2.4 billion dollars annually to Indiana’s economy. Indiana is the number one duck producing state, ranks 3rd in egg production, 6th in turkey production and raises millions of broiler chickens each year.
[audio:https://www.hoosieragtoday.com//wp-content/uploads//2012/11/poultry-donation.mp3|titles=Indiana Poultry Industry Makes Record Food Donation]