DENVER – Recovery efforts continue in Japan in the aftermath of the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) in Japan sees a continuing need to provide relief funded by US producers. US producers have donated more than $500,000 to the USMEF Japan Relief Effort thus far.

Two events that provided a hot meal of US beef and pork to more than 1,600 displaced people in the northern regions of Japan were recently organized by USMEF. Last week, USMEF worked with 30 staff members from the Gyukaku yakiniku restaurant chain to provide beef and pork bowls and soup to more than 1,200 people at a public school shelter in the city of Onagawa in the Miyagi Prefecture.


More than 330 lbs. each of US pork and beef were served by the USMEF staff and Gyukaka personnel to shelter residents who thanked those American producers who financed the relief effort. “It has been quite a while since I had beef and pork,” said one person at the shelter. “Actually, more than a month.” Another said: “It is such an encouragement that the US industry would come all the way to Ishinomaki help people. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”