Meat Conference exhibitors donate to Nashville communities after deadly tornado

Exhibitors at last week’s Annual Meat Conference in Nashville, co-hosted by FMI-The Food Industry Association and the North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute), donated 28,000 pounds of meat and poultry products to The Nashville Food Project , a nonprofit that seeks to increase access to healthy foods in homeless and working poor communities across Davidson County, Tennessee. 

An EF-4 tornado and related storms struck the Nashville area early Tuesday morning, March 3, near where the Meat Conference was held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. The storms killed 25 people and devastated many surrounding communities. 

The donation will provide 90,000 meals over six months.

“Meat Institute member companies have a long history of donating high-quality, nutritious meat and poultry products to help support hunger relief throughout our nation,” said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. “We are pleased to continue this tradition at a time when the Nashville community is in critical need. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and those working to rebuild.”

“We have a wonderful relationship with the Nashville Food Project, and this sizable donation of high-valued protein to communities in need is yet another example of the impact that the food marketplace makes every day in their neighborhoods,” said FMI President and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin. “We are uniquely positioned to make a difference in the communities we serve, and are frequently a beacon of hope to those experiencing physical and emotional loss due to natural disasters, like the tornado this week.”

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