Country Village Meats, Geneva, partners with Illinois Pork Producers to donate over 2300 pounds of ground pork to Northern Illinois Food Bank
Country Village Meats, a family-owned meat processor with artisan butcher shops in Sublette and Geneva, IL, in partnership with Paragon Pork in Chana, IL and the Illinois Pork Producers Association donated 2,388 pounds of ground pork to the Northern Illinois Food Bank in Geneva, IL on Thursday, June 22, 2023.
Helping local communities and residents by sharing their skills and resources is a guiding principle for the owners and employees at Country Village Meats, Paragon Pork, and the Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA) and its members. Ground pork is a nutritious and tasty protein that can be used to create numerous meals for the food bank's clients. Paragon Pork donated 12 hogs. Country Village Meats processed the hogs, donating a portion of its processing fees, plus covering the transportation costs to the food bank in Geneva. IPPA provided financial support through its Pork Power program to fight hunger in Illinois.
Country Village Meats vice president Paul Darrow said, "Our connections with local pork producers at our Sublette location allowed us to quickly reach out to ask producers to donate hogs to participate in this program. The owners of Paragon Pork, Dan Koster and Mark von Holton, provided the generous donation of 12 hogs. We're proud of how often Northern Illinois agricultural producers come through to help fellow Illinois residents."
"Building community and growing relationships is one of the joys of owning small businesses in communities like Sublette and Geneva,"added Country Village Meats president Laurie Winkler Darrow.
Country Village Meats is all about meats crafted in the old-fashioned butcher shop tradition. Its mission is to make the finest tasting products via the artisan methods of years past and to provide friendly, helpful service to its customers. Its Geneva store has full-service meat, seafood, and deli counters, along with a grocery area stocked with foods from other local and family-owned businesses. Its Sublette location provides whole animal butchering for the local agricultural community. Farmers bring cattle, hogs, sheep, and goats to be harvested and custom processed under state inspection at its facility.
Laurie and Paul Darrow acquired Country Village Meats in Sublette in 2018. They opened their store in their hometown of Geneva in April 2022 bringing a taste of the country to the Fox River Valley area. Country Village Meats began supporting the local Northern Illinois Food Bank earlier this year. This is the company's first donation of ground pork under the Pork Power program to the Geneva food bank.