Southern Recipe and Southern Recipe Small Batch pork rinds, having just celebrated the thirteenth annual Pork Rind Appreciation Day, donated a total of $15,000 to partner charity Coach Ditka’s Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund (GGAF). Additionally, this year’s campaign winner celebrates a local Minneapolis-area man, Jack Bowen. Having played the Pork Rind Appreciation Day game consistently, Jack has won the cash prize of $5,000 and a year’s supply of pork rinds. Together, the brands, which pioneered Pork Rind Appreciation Day, have used the beloved foodie holiday as an avenue by which to bring awareness to the important work being done by GGAF and to the pork rind category, overall. 

Pork Rind Appreciation Day was made an official foodie holiday to help consumers realize pigskins and pig skins just go together. Being celebrated on the biggest day of the football season allows Southern Recipe and Southern Recipe Small Batch to capitalize on a day of the year that focuses just as much on the game of football as it does on food. Throughout the campaign this year, the history and love of football as we know it was shared by some of Pro Football’s most beloved players who have since left the field. This year’s list included Hall of Fame members Joe Greene, Kenny Houston, and Mel Renfro, as well as special guest Ickey Woods, former Cincinnati Bengals fullback.

Through concerted marketing efforts, millions of consumers were reached and educated on the need to support football players after they leave the limelight. By donating $15,000 to GGAF, the pork rind brands used their awareness to help a forgotten but important subset of our population, the football players who no longer have the attention and support they once possessed but desperately need. These players often struggle with health insurance, retirement programs and medical expenses. Additionally, one lucky winner, a native to Minnesota, took home $5,000 and a year’s supply of pork rinds. 

“Prior to this campaign, I was not a fan nor a pork rind consumer,” shares Jack Bowen, the 2022 winner of the annual Pork Rind Appreciation Day campaign. “But now I am! I’m a big fan of pork rinds—and hope to use my winnings to pay off a big portion of the cost of my recent college degree.”

“We absolutely love celebrating Pork Rind Appreciation Day with Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund each year. For us, it’s a highlight just to be able to help this incredible organization… and to bring a little more joy to today’s very deserving shoppers,” says Mark Singleton, vice president of sales and marketing for Southern Recipe pork rinds and Advisory Council Member for GGAF. “After the cameras stop focusing on America’s pro-football players, their lives still carry on. However, they typically suffer physically, mentally, and emotionally from the consequences of harsh play. This is an important way we’re able to give back.”

Source: Southern Recipe