Free pork burger event is resounding success

WASHINGTON — Organizers said a drive-through event offering free pork burger meals was a hit in Washington last week, with the Washington County Pork producers giving away all 1,000 meal kits in about an hour and a half.

The event was organized largely by Amanda Adam, a member of the Washington County Pork Producers who had helped set up similar events before, working with private farms. The giveaway on Oct. 9 was the first coordinated by the organization itself, however, and there was no shortage of behind-the-scenes work needed to make it happen.

“I’m a believer that there are very few things that even a few committed people, with a goal in mind, can’t accomplish,” Adam said. “We started meeting in maybe the beginning of August, to start discussing this event.”

Adam said organizers settled on a location at the fairgrounds, arranged food donations and sponsors, and mustered about 20 volunteers to grill food, pack bags and hand them out, over the next few months.

Plenty of other logistic steps were less intuitive. Adam said the group was sure to contact local law enforcement, before drawing hundreds of cars to the southwest side of town. Volunteers also had to plan food-safe storage for the pre-prepared meals, and coordinate their plans with members of the county fair board.

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For many of the producers involved, stepping up at the event was a major commitment, as October represents the height of harvest season. Still, Adam said the timing — on a Wednesday in the middle of a busy month — would maximize the event’s positive impact. With fewer extracurricular activities in town than other nights of the week, she said pork producers expected community members to have enough time to pick up the food, as well as enough need for an easy meal in the middle of the work week.

Plus, the month of October was especially important to organizers: being national pork month, Adam said it was the ideal time to demonstrate the industry’s positive local impact.

“We know that food is expensive right now and the economy is pretty tough, so we thought we could mold together pork month with a community event that would let people enjoy our delicious pork, and do some promotion,” she said. “People who are available step up.”

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After volunteers hauled a massive mobile grill onto the fairgrounds earlier in the day, the drive-thru event started at 4:30 p.m. Before 6, Washington County Pork Producers Treasurer Jaelyn Hesseltine said all 1,000 of the patties had been given away.

Adam said the group was quite pleased with the result.

“I really hope the event will make people go out and buy more pork than they have previously been buying, and consider putting pork on the menu more times a week,” she said. “Finding ways to draw people’s attention to pork, I think that’s just a great opportunity for the industry.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com