Senators Make Friendly 'Wager' Ahead Of Oregon Versus Utah Game

WASHINGTON D.C. —Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, and Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican, made a friendly "wager" Wednesday ahead of Saturday's Pac-12 football game between the No. 4 Oregon Ducks (9-1, 6-1) and the No. 24 Utah Utes (7-3, 6-1). The contest will kick off at 4:30 p.m. Pacific in Salt Lake City.

Wednesday's bet between the senators was a little different than normal wagers in that both sides will pay out regardless of who wins the game, and the real winners will be community members facing food insecurity in both states and local food banks.

According to a release, Oregon's Farmers Ending Hunger and the Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) will be donating 15,000 pounds of ground beef and more than 20,000 pounds of cheese and dairy products to the Utah Food Bank.

Meanwhile, the Oregon Food Bank and Food for Lane County in Oregon will be receiving 40,000 pounds of Pork from Smithfield Foods in Utah.

"The Ducks are no strangers to winning crucial road games this season, so as a longtime Oregon football fan going back to my days at U of O Law School, I have no doubt the Ducks' march to the college football playoffs will continue on Saturday in Salt Lake City," Wyden said.

The Oregon senator added: "I very much look forward to another Ducks win. And I'm grateful that Farmers Ending Hunger and TCCA once again are putting their community generosity on full display as part of this effort to help combat hunger in Oregon and Utah."

Lee actually attended school at Utah's big rival Brigham Young, but said he's expecting the home-state Utes to pull the upset against an Oregon team that on Tuesday remained at No. 3 in the College Football Playoff Top 25.

"The Utes have had one heck of a season and are coming off of a three-game winning streak," Lee said. "While a true, blue BYU Cougar myself, I'm confident the University of Utah will give the Ducks a run for their money this weekend."

Lee added: "I am grateful to my friend and colleague Senator Wyden and to the universities for joining in this effort. I am also especially grateful to Smithfield Foods in Utah for making this game particularly interesting by donating 80,000 pounds of protein to food banks in Utah and Oregon. What is sure to be a good game will do a lot of good in our communities."

Fred Ziari, chair of the board of directors for Farmers Ending Hunger, said the friendly wager was a good way to highlight the continued need to address food insecurity in Oregon and Utah and across the country.

"We at Farmers Ending Hunger are grateful to partner with Senator Wyden to donate Oregon-grown beef to Utah," Ziari said. "More than anything, we appreciate the attention this brings to hunger issues that have grown in our two states substantially during the pandemic."