JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As food pantries across the U.S., including those in Northeast Florida, face shortages and supply issues, protein is always in demand.
Cowford Chophouse and national egg producer Cal-Maine Foods have come to the rescue for the Jacksonville-based charity, donating 1.2 million eggs in the last three months.
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As Feeding Northeast Florida prepares for shipments this weekend, the latest donation, delivered Thursday, will serve as vital protein for those struggling to put food on the table for themselves and their families.
Thursday’s donation of 312,000 eggs was the fourth made by the partners to Feeding Northeast Florida.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Cowford Chophouse and Cal-Maine have provided a series of egg donations that help Feeding Northeast Florida meet the ever-growing demand for food as the pandemic continues to impact the lives and livelihoods of Northeast Florida residents.
“When Cowford and Cal-Maine approached us with their goal to donate 1 million eggs to our network of over 250 hunger-relief partners, it seemed impossible,” said Susan King, president and CEO of Feeding Northeast Florida. “Thanks to the incredible generosity of these teams, we’ve been able to distribute much-needed protein to thousands of struggling families in our service area. We are so pleased to work with wonderful organizations such as these that support our mission to improve the quality of life in Northeast Florida by providing nutritious foods and other essential goods to those in need.”
Feeding Northeast Florida provides food to the more than one in six people living in its eight-county service area who struggle to put food on the table for themselves and their families.
As the region’s largest nonprofit food bank and hunger relief network, the organization distributed more than 17 million pounds of food to help feed 257,3000 individuals in 2019 and is on target to provide more than 30 million pounds of food in 2020.
The donation from Cowford Chophouse and Cal-Maine Foods will help Feeding Northeast Florida continue to address food insecurity and poverty through awareness, advocacy, education and action.
Jacques and Tracy Klempf, co-owners of the Cowford Chophouse, have a long-standing relationship with Feeding Northeast Florida. As the former CEO of Dixie Egg Company, Jacques has made several donations to the organization and continues to support the Jacksonville community through charitable initiatives with Cowford Chophouse.
“Feeding Northeast Florida and the important work it does to help feed families in need across the community hold a very special place in our hearts,” said Jacques. “We are all facing difficult times right now and we must support one another as much as possible. Tracy and I are grateful that we were able to partner with Cal-Maine Foods to make our goal to donate 1 million eggs a reality.”
Cal-Maine Foods is committed to giving back to its communities and has made several large-scale egg donations across the country. In Florida, Cal-Maine has donated over 6,500,000 eggs, this year, including those to Feeding Northeast Florida.
“Supporting our communities across the country has never been more important than it is right now,” said Daryl Sargent, Sales Manager of Cal-Maine Foods. “We were happy to partner with Jacques and Tracy, whom we’ve had a great relationship with for many years, to help support those facing food insecurity in Northeast Florida.”