Sunny Anderson salutes the troops with Spam
Fox Foodie: The Food Network star and U.S. Air Force Veteran dishes on her time in the military—and her love of Spam
Spam fans should be on the lookout for the Spamerican Food Truck Tour, hitting the road for its second summer in 2016. The truck is visiting 16 cities from coast to coast, and each stop will have unique fare, true to the local community incorporating the famous canned meat.
Food Network star and Air Force veteran Sunny Anderson will be serving up her Operation Spam Gravy with Biscuits—a take on chipped beef and biscuits with a savory mushroom sauce – and is looking forward to one stop in particular.
“The city I’m most excited about is San Antonio Texas. It’s the city where I enlisted in the military,” Anderson told FOXNews.com. “I went to basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, so it’s going to be a full circle moment.”
Spam is partnering this year with Operation Gratitude, a volunteer organization that sends care packages and letters to U.S. Service Members deployed overseas, veterans, wounded soldiers and their families. Spam will donate $1 for every letter written on-the-road and online at Spam.com to help Operation Gratitude reach its goal of sending two million care packages by 2018.
Of course Hormel has a long military history. During World War II, the company sent over 100 million pounds of canned meat to troops overseas. Today, the company continues its commitment to men and women in the armed forces by participating in the VetFriendly 50,000 jobs challenge, working with other employers to hire 50,000 veterans and military spouses by 2018.
Coming from a military family, Anderson is no stranger to Hormel’s most famous brand.
“Growing up we always had Spam in our family, I don’t know if it’s just because my dad was an Army veteran and my whole family is military as well,” she said.
Different recipes are being served in different locations on the Spam food truck nationwide. In San Diego, sample BBQ Jalapeno Spam tacos with pineapple salsa from Moto Deli’s Alex Carballo. And in Dallas, Dean Fearing is serving up Spam Corn Dogs.
But Anderson still likes her Spam the old fashioned way.
“Open the can, get a loaf of shite cushy bread and make sure the Spam is just spread over it,” she said, adding. “Maybe a squirt of mustard.”
2016 Spamerican Food Truck Tour city stops and events:
--New York, April 18-23 – Tribeca Film Festival
--San Diego, April 27- May 3 – Stagecoach Music Festival
--San Francisco – Travis Air Force Base
--Denver, May 13-14 – Big Wonderful
--Dallas, May 18-22 – Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
--San Antonio – Lackland Air Force Base
--Baton Rouge, May 27-29 – Bayou Superfest
--Nashville, June 2-12 – CMA Festival
--Raleigh, June16-18 – Peak City Pig Fest
--Norfolk, June 22-26 – Bayoo Boogaloo Cajun Festival
--Columbus, July 1-3 – Red, White and Boom
--Indianapolis, July 5-10 – Three Rivers Festival
--Chicago, July 12-17 – Windy City Smokeout
--Twin Lakes, July 21-24 – Country Thunder
--Austin, July 27-29 – Hormel 125th Anniversary
--Minneapolis, July 31-August 8 – Uptown Art Fair
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