DES MOINES – Having only four days to renovate an Oklahoma family’s home, hundreds of crew members and volunteers who worked around the clock recently at the “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” site near Lexington, Okla., dined on a pork dinner courtesy of the Oklahoma Pork Council (O.P.C.).
“The amount of food it takes to feed everyone involved in a project like this is out of this world, and we were glad to help,” said Roy Lee Lindsey, executive director of the O.P.C., which served 471 smoked pork loin sandwiches from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. one evening.
This donation fit in with a guiding principle of the pork industry’s We Care program, which encourages producers to contribute to a better quality of life in communities, Mr. Lindsey said. The We Care responsible pork initiative is a joint effort of the Pork Checkoff through the National Pork Board, and the National Pork Producers Council, to help demonstrate that producers are accountable to established ethical principles and animal well-being practices. We Care defines the industry’s core values and offers a way to build trust with consumers.
The O.P.C. was recognized as a project sponsor with Ideal Homes of Oklahoma, which played a key role in the renovation project. The extreme home makeover benefited Brian and Audra Skaggs, whose infant son required a heart transplant recently.
“This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it couldn’t have happened to a better family,” said Mark McGinnis, O.P.C.’s community outreach specialist.