SPOKANE – On May 21st, Washington’s Beef Community kicked off Beef Counts Summer Grilling at the West Central Community Center in Spokane by distributing 652 pounds of St. Helen’s ground beef, feeding 326 families. Washington’s Beef Community has been serving communities across the state since 2010 through Beef Counts, uniting with organizations like Second Harvest in the fight against hunger.
“The folks in Washington’s beef community know how to stretch a dollar, and their donations are critical to us as we work to help feed our friends and neighbors in need,” said Drew Meuer, President of Second Harvest. “Year after year they step up to bring much-needed relief. But with this year’s extra tight food supplies, this beef is the essential nutrition our communities need.”
This summer, as farmers and ranchers celebrate their pride in feeding their communities, they are focused on supporting families in need of high-quality protein. Thanks to Beef Counts, a partnership between Washington’s Beef Community and Second Harvest, more essential nutrition is made available to our neighbors in need.
For those who are a part of the Washington Beef Community, supporting their neighbors in need fits naturally with their passion for raising beef and feeding people. Ellensburg ranchers, Johnny and Nikki Sarreal want to raise their daughters to value feeding their community.
“Feeding people is what we are passionate about. The opportunity to raise beef and giving that to people is a valuable thing to do. I want our kids to understand that being part of a community is an important aspect of life,” said Sarreal.
The beef included in Second Harvest’s Mobile Market food distributions is made possible each year by donations from Washington’s beef farmers and ranchers and matched by Agri Beef Co. The donated beef is packaged and shipped from Agri Beef’s Washington Beef processing plant in Toppenish directly to Second Harvest where it is then distributed to communities across Eastern Washington.
To learn more about the Beef Counts program, or to donate visit: wabeef.org/beef-counts. To learn more about Second Harvest, visit 2-harvest.org.
