Manitoba Pork Council presents Food Cycle 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
May 7, 2009 (Winnipeg, MB) – Manitoba Pork Council (MPC) is pleased to present Food Cycle 2009, a major fundraising event with Winnipeg Harvest and the Manitoba Association of Food Banks.
Harvest supporter and cyclist Ken Livingstone will cycle the winding route of the Trans Canada Trail from the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border through rural Manitoba and Winnipeg to the Manitoba-Ontario border. Food Cycle’s 1,286 kilometre drive to raise awareness, food and funds gets rolling May 22 and winds up June 7.
Hog farmers will support Livingstone in person at his many stops, and they urge other Manitobans to keep up the momentum by cheering him on and contributing non-perishable food and funds. MPC’s famous Pick Pork Barbecue will serve pork on a bun at five stops: Brandon on May 26; Altona on
May 30; Morris on May 31; Winnipeg on National Hunger Awareness Day June 2; Selkirk on June 3; and East Braintree on June 7. Also watch for pancake breakfasts serving high quality pure pork sausages along the route.
“Hog farmers work every day to feed people at home and around the world by providing safe, high quality pork,” says Karl Kynoch, MPC chairman. “We believe all Manitobans should be able to access safe, quality food, and that’s why we continue to donate pork and support food-raising events like Food Cycle 2009.”
Manitoba’s hog farmers also donated 1 tonne of pork sausage to Harvest at their annual meeting earlier this month. That makes more than 151,000 kg (334,000 lb) of Manitoba pork product donated to Harvest since June 2008. The pork was distributed to over 100 food banks and food programs in the Winnipeg area. In addition, the donated pork was sent to 33 Manitoba food banks outside of Winnipeg and 37 First Nations communities.
“Working with the pork producers of Manitoba and the Manitoba Pork Council is a natural fit for Winnipeg Harvest. Their ongoing commitment and support to providing for Manitobans who are hungry has a great value for families in Manitoba,” says David Northcott, Winnipeg Harvest. “Last year, Winnipeg Harvest distributed over 9.7 million pounds of food to over 300 member agencies throughout Manitoba, and the relationship with Manitoba Pork Council and its producers is key to this work.”
Manitoba’s 900 hog farmers… Caring for animals. Producing quality pork. Protecting the environment.
For all the details and to follow Food Cycle as it crosses the province, go to: Follow Food Cycle 2009
For more information, contact:
Kelly Funke, senior communications coordinator
Manitoba Pork Council
(204) 235-2303/(204) 791-6395
kfunke@manitobapork.com
Bruce Michalski, Interim General Manager
Winnipeg Harvest Inc.
(204) 982-3673
media@winnipegharvest.org
Food Cycle 2009
Watch www.winnipegharvest.org to monitor Ken’s progress and check in on his Food Cycle blog! (You can even try some of Ken’s favourite pork recipes.)
Dates and locations
Day 1 – May 22 Manitoba-Saskatchewan border to Roblin
Day 2 – May 23 Roblin to Russell
Day 3 – May 24 Russell to Shoal Lake
Day 4 – May 25 Shoal Lake to Minnedosa
Day 5 – May 26 Minnedosa to Neepawa
Neepawa to Carberry
Day 6 – May 27 Brandon to Carberry
Day 7 – May 28 Carberry to Swan Lake
Day 8 – May 29 Swan Lake to Morden
Day 9 – May 30 Morden to Altona
Day 10 – May 31 Altona to Morris
Morris to St. Malo
Day 11 – June 1 St. Malo to Winnipeg
Day 12 – June 2 National Hunger Awareness Day
Winnipeg – to include special festivities at Winnipeg Harvest
Day 13 – June 3 Winnipeg to Selkirk
Day 14 – June 4 Selkirk to Brokenhead
Brokenhead to Traverse Bay
Day 15 - June 5 Traverse Bay to Lac du Bonnet
Day 16 – June 6 Lac du Bonnet to White Lake
Day 17 – June 7 White Lake to East Braintree