I like Ontario Pork’s commitment to social responsibility, and the way it’s expressed in a new consumer-facing initiative – a magnificent cookbook called The Whole Hog.

Over the past decade, Ontario Pork and its 1,000-ish producer members have donated nearly 300,000 pounds of pork to Feed Ontario, the umbrella organization for Ontario food banks. That’s close to two million servings.

Food inflation is abating, but food banks need support more than ever. Between Apr. 1, 2021, and Mar. 31, 2022, more than 587,000 people accessed a food bank in Ontario. Pork prices were up too, rising with inflation like everything else.

Like many commodity groups, Ontario Pork is giving back. Most recently, Feed Ontario has been earmarked to receive proceeds from The Whole Hog, a superb 200-page compilation of accessible pork recipes, stories and cooking tips.

“This is another example of the tremendous relationship that we have with Ontario Pork,” said Feed Ontario’s executive director Carolyn Stewart. “We are grateful to be the recipient of the funds raised from the sale of The Whole Hog book. These funds will help local and community food banks to support people facing hunger.”

The Whole Hog is a keeper. Anyone who receives it would be pleased to have this gorgeous, colourful publication in their collection.

The Whole Hog’s tagline is “recipes for those who love local food and yearn for everyday sustainability.” Ages ago, Ontario Pork saw sustainability as an imperative, and began taking measures to help its members align their operations with public interests.

Those kinds of stories are told in The Whole Hog. The cookbook, which sells for $35.39 plus tax, follows the modern cookbook trend of not just offering cooking tips and excellent recipes, but also telling the stories of the farmers who produce the ingredients. But The Whole Hog goes a step further by including stories from chefs who prepare pork, truckers who deliver feed, grocers who sell pork, and even veterinarians and animal nutritionists who keep pigs healthy.

It doesn’t get much more well-rounded than that, and neither do the recipes.

For example, Justine Parkinson from Breslau’s Conestoga Meats provides a recipe for pork belly burnt ends, a favorite with BBQ joint lovers.

Vernla Livestock operations manager Marlon Bauman of Wallenstein gives instructions for his 3-2-1 ribs recipe – with a kick.

Minto-area marketer Stephanie Foster plays on words with her pork meatball recipe called ‘Pork’Upine Balls.

Niagara Falls chef Rita Visca provides a recipe for Ragu Bolognese, a hearty meat-based tomato sauce dish.

And finally chef Eva Chin from Toronto offers up grilled pork jowl, a meal that summarizes the holistic thinking behind The Whole Hog.

“I think pork jowl is the most underused cut in a restaurant setting,” she says. “In a perfect world, I would love all consumers to embrace the animal as a whole and utilize every part.”

This is a cookbook for all seasons. And the cause it supports is so worthy. Great work, Ontario Pork.