NEW YORK — Silver Fern Farms, New Zealand’s largest red meat producer and exporter, announced that it donated 1,500 lbs. of premium pasture-raised beef to Rethink. The donation will be used to facilitate the delivery of 5,000 meals to immediately help families in need in partnership with Silver Fern Farms longstanding food distributor in the U.S., Marx Companies. In an effort to provide additional support Silver Fern Farms will donate an additional 2lbs of pasture-raised beef for every 10lb of Silver Fern Farms Angus beef that is sold online through MarxFoods.com,over the next four weeks.
“Silver Fern Farms has been committed to nourishing American families for over 30 years, and we want to make good on that commitment and provide support to those in need during this difficult time,” said Matt Luxton, Country Manager USA/North America for Silver Fern Farms. “Rethink was the perfect partner in achieving the community outreach we sought because they not only help families in need, but also launched a Restaurant Response Program to help support the vibrant NYC food service industry which is working to come back after the shelter-in-place period.”
Rethink is a non-profit organization that focuses on providing nutritious foods and meals to New York City families in need. As of June 2020, they have delivered more than 1,000,000 meals.
Their Restaurant Response Program was designed to simultaneously assist with individual and family food needs and access during times of crisis, and provide the restaurants with up to $40,000 and the opportunity to continue operation. Restaurant participants currently include: Adda, Brain Food, Collective Fare, Crown Shy, David Burke Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, Esme, Fieldtrip, Gertie, Katie O’s, Kopitiam, La Morada, Little Tong Noodle Shop, Made Nice, Rahi, and Taco Mix.
For Silver Fern Farms this partnership is one piece of the company’s global efforts to help families in need during the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. At home in New Zealand Silver Fern Farms recently announce their founding sponsorship of the new charity, Meat the Need, which enables farmers to help feed New Zealand families who are struggling to make ends meet, by providing a way for them to donate livestock that is then processed by Silver Fern Farms and delivered to foodbanks.
“We are a company of families and farmers with a global reach, and we are committed to sharing New Zealand’s best pasture-raised beef, venison, and lamb to both those in need and those who have the means to contribute,” added Luxton. “This is the beginning of what our community service programs aim to achieve at home and abroad and we are proud to partner with the right organizations.”
ABOUT SILVER FERN FARMS
Silver Fern Farms is New Zealand’s largest grass-fed lamb, beef and venison producer, supplying the United States from the rolling pastures in New Zealand and striving to set the world standard in red meat. Starting as a small farm cooperative in 1948, produces 30% of all New Zealand lamb, beef and venison in partnership with 16,000 farmers, and exports to over 60 countries.
ABOUT RETHINK
Founded in 2017, Rethink is a non-profit organization that was founded on one simple mission – to sustainably create a more equitable food system. For the past 3 years, Rethink utilizes food excess from restaurants, grocery stores, and corporate kitchens to create new and nutritious meals for those in need. Research shows that about 40% of the food produced in America today goes to waste; this is equivalent to 70 billion tons. 42 million people are facing hunger in the United States, but there is enough to feed everyone – Rethink is working to make this happen.
Rethink has also set up emergency food operations, to not only feed those in need during times of crisis, but to fund and activate local food purveyors during these times. This is a model that commenced in New York City in response to COVID-19, with plans to roll out a national model in summer 2020 that will utilize restaurants to feed those impacted by food insecurity at all times, including in crisis. For more information, or requests to interview, please contact BerlinRosen at rethink@berlinrosen.com.
