“It’s really important that we continue to see consumers trusting our pig farmers.”
That from Jeanette Merritt, director of communications for Indiana Pork and a pork producer herself in Miami County, discussing the importance of what has been dubbed “Porktober” this National Pork Month. She says it’s all about consumer trust.
“Trust the way we raise our product, how we abide by our ‘We Care’ ethics be it sustainability, be it our service in communities, be it how we’re taking care of our livestock, we want consumers to trust us and believe in the product that they’re purchasing from the grocery store.”
Throughout the month of October, Indiana Pork has put on a number of fun and educational promotions to put more pork on the fork, or in a sandwich.
“Probably one that’s been the most fun has been to promote breaded pork tenderloins around the state with the Department of Tourism and Visit Indiana,” says Merritt. “So, we’ve been encouraging people to go out and try your favorite breaded pork tenderloin, tag us on social media, do that a couple times you get a chance to win a free pair of socks that have a pig face all over them.”
There’s not much better than a delicious breaded tenderloin. You can get more on that promotion by following Indiana Pork on Facebook and Twitter.
More good news for Indiana pig farmers this “Porktober” is the return of the McRib to McDonald’s restaurants around the country. In 2020, McDonald’s purchased more than $34 million in Indiana ag products, including milk, sugar, soybean oil, and over 6.5 million pounds of pork.
“It’s really great to have a partner like McDonald’s who enjoys this promotion, who appreciates Indiana agriculture, and who appreciates our Indiana pig farmer,” Merritt explains. “We have this McRib McLaunch that’s taking place. We’re bringing the sandwich back into restaurants. People love it, it’s for a limited time, people get excited. They travel to all the different restaurants and try all the different ones, and so it’s great to see excitement around the product and to see a company as big as McDonald’s putting pork front and center on their menu.”
My local McDonald’s had the McRib for sale yesterday. You might want to ask yours if they don’t have the signage up quite yet. Happy Porktober!
