Sending help to Houston; Hormel Foods aid was in place early

Published 7:53 am Friday, September 1, 2017

Flood relief donation drives are ramping up throughout the county to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey  in Texas. Austin-based Hormel Foods, however, had aid already in place.

In anticipation of hurricane season this year, Hormel Foods partnered with Convoy of Hope to help stock the humanitarian organization’s warehouse with “protein-rich products, such as Skippy peanut butter, Stagg chili, Hormel premium chicken breast and Spam  products, that could be positioned and distributed immediately for disaster relief efforts,” a news release from Hormel Foods says.

Texas Army National Guard aviation crews with the 36th Combat Aviation Brigade, conduct search and rescue operations over Houston, Texas, on Tuesday. Hurricane Harvey brought record flooding and destruction to the region. Sgt. 1st Class Malcolm McClendon/ U.S. Army National Guard

Convoy of Hope sent its disaster services team with these products to help with Hurricane Harvey relief efforts on Friday, Aug. 25, and began distributing over the weekend.

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“Hormel Foods will continue to monitor the situation and work with Convoy of Hope to ensure they receive additional support to help take care of those in need,” the release says.

Hormel Foods is also also providing support for its employees impacted by the storm through its CARE Program, the release says.

In addition, Hormel Foods has a long-standing partnership with Feeding America and other foodbanks, and continually donates products that can be used for hunger and disaster relief. In 2016, Hormel Foods donated more than $7.4 million in cash and product donations toward these efforts.