UPDATE: The smell of roast pork was in the air at Friday's free pork barbeque.

Hundreds of people enjoyed a free lunch outside the iNews880 studios (5204-84th Street) -- all in the name of supporting a pork industry that's been hard hit by the presence of the H1N1 flu virus.

George Groeneveld took his turn carving one of the many pigs roasted today in the station's parking lot turned buffet. He says the turn out shows, "support for the industry and that people are understanding the science is right and emotion shouldn't be entering into to this. So, I think it's just a vote of confidence for the pork"

He adds, "domestically I think we're doing pretty good. I think people are hanging in there with us and they understand the situation and realize that pork is good, pork works." Internationally, Groeneveld says there is work to be done as some off-shore markets have shut their doors to our pork.

Staff from iNews880, together with sister stations 630 CHED, CISN-County, and Joe-FM, helped the Nelson family from Brass Boar Catering get things prepared. "Six-and-a-half hours is what it takes to cook these -- these are 100-110-pound hogs," said Nelson, "Prep on it is about an hour a hog."

Nelson adds, "We've had people from across the street come over. They can smell this cooking so they're ready to come over and have something at lunch time."


Listener John Granke, standing in line for his pulled pork sandwich, says, "It smells good. Anything the farmers make smells good." (MS, ccg)