Ranchers Feeding Kids
4-H & Youth
Anna-Marie Chamberlain
Malheur County Extension Agent
Oregon State University
Ontario
Abstract
School Districts in Malheur County are facing multiple challenges such as cutting expenses and balancing budgets, abiding by state and federal laws and providing safe and healthy meals to students, as it pertains to the school lunch program. The local Cattlemen’s Association, understanding the challenges of the Jordan Valley School District, decided to implement a cattle drive to provide beef for the school district. The drive, recruits ranches to donate cull cattle for the purpose of being harvested, processed and prepared for use in the schools’ lunch program. To kick off the program, Oregon State University Extension and various partners coordinated and held a community wide educational event for students, parents and community members. Educational sessions included: viewing an educational DVD about the importance of ranching in Oregon, food safety, beef industry skills such as feed identification and cuts of meat evaluation, parts of a plant and their use for livestock, and creating healthy meals according to the Food Guide Pyramid. During lunch an overview of the project was presented and local ranchers were recognized for their contributions. There were over one-hundred participants and all reported an increase in knowledge. To date the school has received 7 head of cattle which is an approximate value of $4,200. Partners involved in this project included: Oregon State University Extension Malheur County 4-H and Livestock, Oregon State University Food and Nutrition Program, University of Idaho Extension Owyhee County, Southwest Regional Food Bank, Malheur County Cattlemen’s Association and Jordan Valley School District #3.
Authors: Chamberlain, A.
-
Chamberlain, A. Malheur County Extension Livestock & Rangeland Agent, Oregon State University, Oregon, 97914