(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.)--The Missouri Corn Growers Association (MCGA) partnered with the Troy FFA and St. Louis Area Foodbank today to harvest and deliver 4,708 pounds of sweet corn from the Witt Farm located near Warrenton, Mo., to needy families in east-central Missouri.

"While we typically grow field corn and not the sweet corn you see in the store, this was a great opportunity to lend a hand to the people in this region," said Keith Witt, MCGA president and corn farmer.  "Not only are we providing fresh produce to people facing hard times, but today's event was also a small step in helping bridge the gap between farmers and consumers."
 
The 4,708 pounds of donated fresh produce will be distributed by the St. Louis Area Foodbank, resulting in 3,766 meals for hungry families.  Serving a 25-county area of east-central Missouri and west-central Illinois, an estimated 57,100 people turn to the St. Louis Area Foodbank for food assistance each week.  Last year the food bank distributed over 22 million pounds of food to families in the St. Louis region.
 
"Over 260,000 people rely on the St. Louis Area Foodbank each year for food assistance.  Over 100,000 of those are children under the age of 18," said Lenora Young, director of product sourcing for the St. Louis Area Foodbank.  "During these summer months, having fresh produce like the sweet corn being donated today helps us to provide a better nutritional mix for the families that we serve while those kids are out of school."
 
In April, Witt planted one acre of sweet corn (approximately the size of a football field) on his farm near Warrenton, Mo., to help feed families in need.  Today's donation to the St. Louis Area Foodbank is Missouri Corn's second delivery to a major Missouri food bank.  The first delivery of sweet corn provided 3,366 pounds of fresh produce to Harvesters-The Community Food Network in Kansas City, Mo.   
 
Despite a popular misconception, the vast majority of corn grown in Missouri and across the nation is not sweet corn.  According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), only 1 percent of the corn grown in the U.S. is the sweet vegetable consumers enjoy off the cob, canned or in the frozen food aisle.  The remaining 99 percent is field corn.  Harvested when the kernels are dry and fully mature, field corn is primarily used for livestock feed, ethanol production, exports and other manufactured goods. 
 
During today's harvest, industry representatives highlighted the important economic role field corn plays in our rural communities.  Last year, Missouri corn farmers produced approximately 447 million bushels of grain on 3 million acres, generating $1.6 billion in farm revenue for the state's economy.  Livestock producers and ethanol plants like MME are important consumers of the nation's top crop.    
 
To learn more about Missouri's corn industry and the farmers who produce it, visit www.mocorn.org or call 1-800-827-4181. 

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Photo Caption:  Students from the Troy FFA Chapter pick sweet corn on the farm of Keith Witt, Missouri Corn Growers Association president, to be donated to the St. Louis Area Foodbank.

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Photo Caption:  Members of the Troy FFA Chapter load sweet corn into a St. Louis Area Foodbank truck to help needy families in the St. Louis area.  The donated corn was grown on the farm of Missouri Corn Growers Association President Keith Witt.

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Photo Caption:  Jayne Glosemeyer (center), past Missouri Corn board member and farmer from Marthasville, Mo., explains the difference between sweet corn which consumers enjoy eating and field corn, which represents the majority of corn grown in the U.S. to staff of Congressman Todd Akin and the St. Louis Area Foodbank before members of the Missouri Corn Growers Association and Troy FFA Chapter donated over 4,700 pounds of sweet corn to the foodbank.

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Photo Caption:  Lenora Young, director of product sourcing for the St. Louis Area Foodbank, thanks members of the Missouri Corn Growers Association and the Troy FFA Chapter for the donation of 4,708 pounds, or 3,766 meals, of sweet corn to assist hungry individuals in east-central Missouri.

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Photo Caption:  Missouri Corn Merchandising Council Chairman Kenny McNamar, a farmer from Gorin, Mo., thanks the family of Keith Witt for producing the sweet corn donated to the St. Louis Area Foodbank on behalf of Missouri Corn and the Troy FFA Chapter.

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