— Submitted photo Santa hands out a pork loin at an Operation Christmas Meal stop recently. Operation Christmas Meal will come to Webster City Dec. 7 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Hy-Vee parking lot.

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA–Iowa Select Farms and the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation announced the expansion of Operation Christmas Meal, a free pork loin giveaway for families who aren’t planning a Christmas meal due to insufficient funds. 

This year, Operation Christmas Meal will donate 17,000 boneless pork loins roasts — a forty-five percent increase from 2017.

`“We believe in giving back, especially in the rural communities across the state that we call home,” said Jeff Hansen, CEO of Iowa Select Farms and co-founder of the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation. “Helping people is in the DNA of Iowa farmers, it’s just what we do.”

Operation Christmas Meal will kick off Friday, Nov. 30 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and end on Monday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. in Pocahontas at the Iowa Select Farms warehouse. Over the course of five days, Operation Christmas Meal will also travel to Iowa Falls, Webster City, Clarion, Mount Ayr, Afton, Humeston, Hampton, Riceville, Osage, Sac City, Lake City and Pocahontas.

Operation Christmas Meal will stop in Webster City on Friday, Dec. 7 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hy-Vee Parking Lot.

“During an especially difficult time for families in need, Operation Christmas Meal helps create a happy holiday for all Iowans, no matter their level of income,” said Jen Sorenson, Communications Director of Iowa Select Farms. “The event is free and open to anyone in need.”

Now in its eighth year, Operation Christmas Meal has provided more than 514,000 Christmas meals to Iowa families. The event has become a holiday tradition for the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation with hundreds of Iowa Select Farms employees volunteering to brave the cold to hand out the pork loins year-after-year.

“We are proud to be a homegrown Iowa company working in the heart of Iowa communities,” said Hansen.

“Operation Christmas Meal is just one way for us to give our fellow Iowans a helping hand.”