Happy National Farmer’s Day!
Here at Burgerville, we love supporting the local farmers who grow our delicious and nutritious ingredients. We are so grateful for their hard work and commitment to feeding the community. To celebrate, we are teaming up with the incredible group Farmers Ending Hunger, to raise money and join the effort in reducing hunger in Oregon and SW Washington.
Farmers Ending Hunger began in 2006 with a donation of 163,000 pounds of frozen peas. The peas were processed, packaged, and delivered to the Oregon Food Bank, setting in motion a successful model of farmers and producers teaming up to bring high quality foods to the food bank. For 17 years, the organization —run by just one employee: Executive Director John Burt— has forged relationships with growers across the region and donated 35 million pounds of food!
Part of the work of Farmers Ending Hunger is funding the preparation of raw products so it can be handled by the volunteers at the food bank and distributed into local communities. With the help of their partners, Farmers Ending Hunger has turned wheat into an all-purpose baking mix and dried peas into soup mix. Not only are they working to eliminate hunger, but they are eliminating food waste.
While most of the donated products are kitchen staples like onions, potatoes, and ground beef, Farmers Ending Hunger also works to get special treats like fresh cherries to the food bank. Orchard View Cherries, a 100-year-old family farm in The Dalles, Oregon, has been fostering this connection between farmers and the community for many years. Each week of cherry season, Orchard View sends their fruit to the Oregon Food Bank, sharing a much-appreciated luxury with the broader community.
To show their appreciation for the farmers who share their crops, Farmers Ending Hunger is intentional about bringing the donated products back to the communities where they are sourced. Every year, 5,000 pounds of locally sourced ground beef are brought back to food banks across Eastern Oregon where the cattle are raised. With this circle of giving, farmers can help reduce hunger within their own community.
To support Farmers Ending Hunger, stop on by your neighborhood Burgerville on National Farmer’s Day and order a NW Cheeseburger! For every NW Cheeseburger sold on October 12th, we will donate $1 to Farmers Ending Hunger. You can also make a donation when you order in store or on the Burgerville App!
Check out the Farmers Ending Hunger website and learn about how you can adopt an acre and help to end hunger in Oregon: https://www.farmersendinghunger.com/adopt-an-acre/