TREMONTON, Utah — The Utah Farm Bureau, with help from the Miracle of Ag Foundation and FFA students, made a very welcome meat donation Tuesday to the local food banks in Box Elder County.
The Miracle of Ag Foundation, which is the charitable arm of the Utah Farm Bureau, started during the pandemic when they saw a need arise from a lack of local markets.
"We started it then in the hopes of going around and gathering the products that were being donated because farmers had lost their markets, and there was a need for the food still," said Clayton Beckstead, a spokesperson for the foundation.
Beckstead said that as the markets came back, the need for food has only grown, so the nonprofit evolved — raising funds through private donors and others to help purchase livestock and support local ranchers, and then get help in funding cutting and wrapping that meat and donating it to local food pantries.
That all happened Tuesday at the Tremonton Food Pantry and the Box Elder Community Pantry as they donated multiple containers of pork, sausage, bacon and more.
"We’re supporting local ag and then we’re supporting local families that need it," Beckstead said.
Carey Hunsaker runs the Tremonton Food Pantry and says they haven't had sausage at their pantry in years. She says it will be a treat for dozens of families who rely on their services.
"It’s really hard to get meat donated, probably because it’s so expensive," she said.
She said the pork donation Tuesday will go a long way in feeding those they help — from Bear River City to Snowville and everywhere in between.
"And our needs are going up every month. Every week I have new applicants that are coming in and needing help," Hunsaker said.
Joleen Groberg from the Box Elder Community Food Pantry agreed with the increased demand, saying the recent food drive this past weekend certainly helped — but this kind of donation will really be appreciated.
"That’ll probably feed about 70 families, the meat that got donated today," Groberg said. "So that is 70 breakfasts and that means quite a bit. It really does make a difference."
And that difference is felt by both those who receive and those who give.
"We were there with some young men and young women and you actually saw where the rubber meets the road," said Andy Yates, the president of the South Box Elder County chapter of the Utah Farm Bureau.
Yates said he'll never be the same after helping serve the food they provided in a local soup kitchen recently.
"You saw the need, the real, real need, and it changed me," he said.
Local ranchers and farmers this past year marked a century of livestock shows, and they say it's crucial in what that teaches so many kids out there who get involved in FFA and other programs where they can raise animals and take them through every part of the process.
"I used to be over the hogs at the Box Elder County fair for years, and that's where I realized this could be a good idea to help buy these animals and then get donations to cut and wrap the meat and feed families who need it," said North Box Elder County Farm Bureau President Jeff Kent.
He said what they were doing Tuesday at the local food bank was a full circle moment, donated a pig that had been raised by a local FFA student, shown at the state fair, bought, and then processed and gifted to the food bank.
"What we hope to do is get them the protein that they need. We’re also hoping that it helps the kids realize that the animals they are raising for the fair, that it’s actually going to a good cause," Kent said.
If you'd like to learn about this or other Miracle of Ag or Utah Farm Bureau, you can do so here - https://www.utahfarmbureau.org/ or to learn more about the FFA in your area, you can do so here.
