AMES — The 2015 Iowa State Bacon Expo is to be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 10, in the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center, south of Iowa State’s campus. The theme is “Bacon Nation” with an emphasis on supporting the Puppy Jake Foundation and Wounded Warrior Project.
Bacon Expo is the only student powered bacon festival in the nation that focuses on education and philanthropy. The excess bacon will be donated to the Food at First Food Bank in Ames for the third year in a row. After choosing the theme of “Bacon Nation,” student organizers voted to support the Wounded Warrior Project as this year’s main philanthropic effort.
A portion of the profits will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project. Trainers and their dogs from the Puppy Jake Foundation will be present at this year’s event to educate the public about their cause and will be available for questions. They plan to hand out brochures, speak with attendees and allow the public to interact with the dogs.
The Puppy Jake Foundation is based out of Des Moines and trains service dogs that are provided to military veterans at no charge to the veteran. The dogs are trained for veterans with PTSD and mobility issues. The dogs start training at eight weeks old, and attend a weekly class for two years until they graduate.
“This is a great organization with a worthy mission and I am very honored to be a part of,” says Nora Jo Beving. She is a volunteer with the Puppy Jake Foundation and is currently training a lab named Franny.
To attend the Iowa State Bacon Expo, tickets are sold at baconexpo.ag.istate.edu or at the door on Saturday, Oct. 10.
For updates, ticket giveaways and to learn more about Bacon Expo, follow @ISUBaconExpo on Twitter and Iowa State Bacon Expo on Facebook.