Land O’Lakes has made a significant contribution to the Food Bank of Lincoln.
Through Land O’Lakes’ First Run Program, a donation of nearly 40,000 pounds of macaroni and cheese has been gifted to the food bank. This contribution translates into an astounding 100,000 servings of food, according to Jason Pauling, Director of Corporate Partnerships at the Food Bank.
These donations will be distributed during the Food Bank’s mobile distributions. This program serves Lincoln and 25 other rural communities in southeast Nebraska. Pauling explained, “We set up pallets of food in parking lots, allowing our neighbors in need to drive through, where volunteers assist in loading their vehicles with essential items.”
“This helps tremendously, because a donation like this, if we had to go out and purchase, it would obviously take a lot of funds,” Pauling said. “But this will last. Say we distribute about 1000 bags on Friday. There’s 7500 bags total. So we’ll be able to distribute for Friday, Saturday, all of next week at multiple distributions with this donation. So it makes a big difference for people in the community.”
Pauling emphasized the appeal of mac and cheese as a popular family meal, “It’s always fun when a kid sees something they like. They’ll pop up and say it right away. ‘I love Mac and cheese!’ It’s always nice to see the smiling faces kids when they get something they like.”
Friday April 19, at 10:00 a.m., First Lady of Nebraska Suzanne Pillen, Lincoln City Council Chair Tom Beckius, and officials with the Food Bank of Lincoln and Land O’ Lakes hold a commemorative event at the Food Bank’s 1221 Kingbird Road location to celebrate the donation.