The Iowa Hawkeyes’ loss in the 2014 Outback Bowl against the Louisiana State University Tigers is a win for the hungry in Iowa and Louisiana, thanks to a friendly wager between Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Each governor pledged to send 200 lb. of his state’s quintessential food — Iowa pork and Louisiana seafood — to charities in both states if his team lost. Even before the Hawkeyes and Tigers took the field on Jan. 1 in Tampa, FL, the Deb and Jeff Hansen Iowa Select Farms Foundation volunteered to donate 200 lb. of Iowa ham on behalf of Gov. Branstad, if needed.

After the University of Iowa Hawkeyes lost 21-14 to LSU, the Deb and Jeff Hansen Iowa Select Farms Foundation delivered 100 lb. of ham to the Food Bank of Iowa in Des Moines. On Jan. 13, the foundation packed up 100 lb. of ham in coolers to ship to a soup kitchen in Louisiana. The coolers, festooned with Hawkeye stickers, were addressed to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Grace Place Ministries in Monroe, LA.

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“A core mission of the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation is hunger relief, which is why we were glad to support Gov. Branstad with his friendly wager,” said Jeff Hansen, president and CEO of Iowa Select Farms and co-founder of the Foundation. “We’re happy to be able to donate hams to both organizations in an effort to help both Iowa and Louisiana families in need.”

“We were delighted when the hams from Iowa Select Farms arrived on Tuesday,” said Rhonda Grace, founder and CEO of faith-based Grace Place Ministries. “To get a food donation of this size is truly a blessing because we serve 3,000 meals a month and the need keeps growing. If we cut up the 100 lb. of ham and serve it with red beans and rice, we can provide about 400 meals, maybe more. We’re not sure when we’ll use the ham because Louisiana First Lady Supriya Jindal wants to help serve it, so we’re waiting to coordinate with her schedule.”

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