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MO Beef for MO Students
Beefing Up School Lunches
Tim Fernandez was reading through the Missouri Ruralist when he came across an article promoting beef in local Missouri schools. The article inspired him to contact Sarah Bradshaw, Food Service Director at Putnam County R-I School, to discuss the possibilities of initiating the program in our District.
The goal of the program is to increase the use of local beef in our school lunches. Straight from the farm to the meat processor, to the plate. It is fresh. It is flavorful.
“Beef provides 10 essential nutrients needed by growing children and we want to educate and inspire them to eat beef,” says Fernandez. Cattle can be donated either directly from a producer or could be purchased from a local farmer. Community members can offer monetary donations to assist in processing fees or transportation to the processing facility.
One cow per month is estimated to feed 620 students. Sarah Bradshaw is excited with the possibilities of adding more ground beef recipes to the lunch menu; reducing the number of frozen convenience items.
Keeping it local, Mast Meats in Queen City, MO is a USDA-inspected facility that has generously discounted their processing fee to benefit this program. The cattle will be processed into ground beef and packaged into 10-pound rolls.
It is very rewarding to see our community getting involved with their local school in a very unique way. Besides the tax deduction, donor’s will be recognized on a monthly banner displayed in the high school cafeteria (commons), on the scrolling marquee, on the school website, and in the local newspaper. This is a great way to support the beef industry and help kids learn to love beef.
Interested parties should contact Sarah Bradshaw at 660-947-3361, ext. 307.
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