As part of the Farmland food brand‘s Honoring the Heartland Tour, Farmland visited the Kansas State Fair to recognize the National FFA Organization through a donation of $65,000 for its positive contributions in agriculture. In addition, the brand presented $9,000 to the Kansas FFA Association to support the state chapter’s mission.
The Honoring the Heartland Tour, which is now in its second year, is a 12-week food truck tour to show appreciation for Midwest farming communities by delivering “grab-n-go” meals to those working in the agriculture industry and providing monetary donations to support the next generation of farmers. During the first year of the truck tour, Farmland served over 11,000 meals to proud Midwest residents and donated more than 160,000 servings of protein.
At the presentation, the Farmland, which is a division of Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, also announced its new Farmland FFA Heartland Grant Program, which will be providing $20,000 in financial support via $1,000 grants to help support FFA students’ goals and inspire continued growth in the agriculture industry. Farmland is encouraging FFA members located in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri to enroll through an open application process, ending October 9, 2022, at FarmlandFFAHeartlandGrants.com.
Since July, the Honoring the Heartland Tour food truck has been making two to three stops per week in various locations rooted in Midwestern neighborhoods. In addition to distributing meals, Farmland will continue its partnership with the National FFA Organization to assist in its vision to grow leaders, build communities and strengthen agriculture at the local, state, and national levels. Throughout the remainder of the tour, Farmland will be donating a total of $150,000 to the National FFA Organization and local FFA chapters.
“We are grateful for Farmland’s ongoing support of the National FFA Organization’s mission to make a positive difference in the lives of students,” said Molly Ball, president for the National FFA Foundation and chief marketing officer for the National FFA Organization. “We’re happy to join the brand in recognizing the often-overlooked heroes of farming and agriculture.”
In addition, Farmland is an official partner of country superstar Luke Bryan’s Farm Tour for a second consecutive year. In its 13th year, the Farm Tour is an annual concert series that gives back by awarding college scholarships to students from farming families who are attending a local college or university near the tour stops. To date, more than 60 scholarships have been granted.
