Meat from the 2024 Illinois State Fair Sale of Champions is now being donated to Feeding Illinois food banks through a new partnership aimed at supporting local communities. The initiative is a collaboration between the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
Under the agreement, 80% of the meat from Sale of Champions animals and the Illinois State Fair Processed Meats Competition will be donated to the Feeding Illinois network, which helps provide food assistance across the state. Meanwhile, the College of ACES will retain 20% of the meat to support education, research, and public outreach through its Meat Sciences Laboratory. The lab focuses on workforce training and increasing access to quality meat products for the public.
One of the key partners in Feeding Illinois is the Eastern Illinois Foodbank, based in Urbana. This food bank supplies food to a network of 170 partner agencies, including several sites across Richland, Jasper, Lawrence, Clay, and surrounding counties. For more information, visit eifoodbank.org.
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