Beefing up food banks

TOPPENISH -- A 720-pound black steer trotted back and forth in a pen as an auctioneer called out bids. But this was more than just another day in the auction ring.

"Starting at a dollar, do I have a dollar?" he said.

A buyer raised his hand.

"A $1.10, do I have a 1.10?" the auctioneer continued. Buyers raised their hands as the bidding climbed to $1.20 a pound for the animal.

"Sold," the auctioneer called out.

But the steer stayed in the pen and bidding resumed. The animal was auctioned off seven more times.

In all, the animal garnered more than $10,000 in a special fundraiser auction to put beef into area food banks, which are seeing an unprecedented number of people for whom the Great Recession hasn't ended.

Food banks mostly hand out nonperishable, starchy items such as dry cereal, rice and macaroni, but are often short of foods high in protein like fresh beef.

But the beef industry is poised to enrich that diet with a first-ever effort in Washington and Idaho to put more meat into the region's food banks, said Jay Theiler, executive director of marketing at Agri-Beef Co. in Boise, Idaho, the parent company of Washington Beef, a Toppenish slaughterhouse.

"We need to be involved in communities where we're doing business," he said. "When we talk to food banks, we hear them say they are not getting enough protein. Obviously beef has a lot of nutrients

and this is something we can do."

Several state associations -- Cattle Feeders, Livestock Marketing, Cattlemen's and Cattlewomen's -- and the Washington State Beef Commission along with Washington Beef are partnering with Second Harvest Inland Northwest, a regional food bank supplier, to create what's been dubbed Beef Counts.

It's an effort warmly welcomed, said Rod Wieber, chief resource officer with Second Harvest in Spokane, which stocks Yakima Valley food bank shelves.

"This is just going to bring a lot of protein-rich nutrition into our program," he said.

One calf produces about 1,600 servings of beef.

Cattlemen are donating cash and animals -- like Tuesday night's steer, which was donated by Jack Field, executive vice president of the Washington Cattlemen's Association.

"To really put our best foot forward and show people that the beef industry really does care and help fight the battle against hunger," he said.

Donations are also being accepted from the public.

Washington Beef has committed to matching 50 percent, up to $50,000, of the money raised.

"And we're trying to get the word out because people can donate," Theiler said. "They don't have to be producers or cattle ranchers, and we'll match them."

Beef industry representatives say their effort isn't a marketing or public relations pitch.

In recent years, neighbors of Washington Beef have criticized the smell of its emissions caused by boiling cow parts. Earlier this year, the company was fined $750,000 by the Environmental Protection Agency for wastewater violations. The plant is upgrading its wastewater treatment plant and has installed air scrubbers to improve the smell.

But the company has long been involved in community projects and for years has donated both money and beef to local food banks.

"Recognition, that's not why we're doing it," said Washington Beef president Brad McDowell. "What's important to us is to provide something to someone who needs it."

In December, the money raised will be used to buy wholesale beef from Washington Beef that, in turn, will be distributed to 275 food banks throughout Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho, including in the Yakima Valley.

Although an essential part of the diet, protein only accounts for 14 percent of the roughly 40 pounds of food a family of four receives a week at a food bank, Wieber said.

For an average family of four, that equates to only 0.7 ounces of protein per person a day, well below the required 6 ounces a day, he said.

The push to get more beef to the needy comes at a time when food banks are being inundated with people who traditionally didn't seek help, he said.

Over the past year, food banks in the Yakima Valley alone have seen demand increase nearly 50 percent.

"We have just been on this incline of hunger need," Wieber said. "We just continue hearing of new families going to food banks for the first time because they're out of work and just not making ends meet."

It's often tough for food banks to distribute perishable food because they lack cold storage, he said.

Distribution of beef generated from the Beef Counts program will be spread out enough that food banks -- which have limited freezer capacity-- won't be overloaded, he said.

"This program is going to make it a whole lot better," Wieber said of the beef industry's effort.

And to make things interesting, industry leaders in Washington and Idaho have agreed to a little challenge: Which state can raise the most money?

Last week, a fundraiser auction was held in Spokane, and similar ones are being held at livestock yards in Idaho.

So far, each state has raised about $25,000. The goal in Washington is to raise $100,000 by December, which would total $150,000 after the match.

Cattlemen at the auction, many of them looking to stock their animal feeding operations, didn't hesitate to get behind the cause.

"It's for feeding people. They're trying to help people who are going hungry," said buyer Merle Booker of Connell, Wash., who donated about $850. "There's nothing better than eating beef."

Describing the close-knit industry, buyer Keith Pearce of Pasco said it's not unusual for cattlemen to band together in support of such events. He gave $1.16 a pound.

"I think more important than anything is to feed people," said Pearce, a feed manager for Simplot Feeders. "If you can contribute to that, it's a pretty important thing."

How to donate

Donations to beef up local food banks can be made online at www.beefcounts.org or by calling 206-444-2902.

* Phil Ferolito can be reached at 509-577-7749 or pferolito@yakimaherald.com.