The Fayette and New Franklin School Districts are “beefing” it up again through the MO Beef Kids program. Each school received 400 pounds of hamburger, equaling approximately 2,800 servings of beef in each school.

Steve and Joyce Diehls of Fayette and Running C Ranch of New Franklin donated the two animals. “I contributed to the program to help kids better understand where food comes from and to help them enjoy the great taste of beef,” says Diehls. Running C Ranch donated to the program, “to help students make a connection to the people producing the meat they eat. It is a great program, and we are blessed to be a part of it.”

“Through the MO Beef Kids program, students are provided locally raised beef and education about the industry,” stated Heather Conrow, Livestock Specialist with MU Extension of Howard County. Conrow went on to explain community members are able contribute to the program through animal or monetary contributions. “When members of the community contribute towards the sponsorship of the processing, the schools get the beef at no cost,” according to Conrow.

MO Beef Kids is a partnership between the school districts, the Howard County Cattlemen’s Association, MU Extension in Howard County, the Missouri Beef Industry Council, and the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Missouri Grown program. All beef is produced and donated by local cattle producers.

For more information about the program or to make an animal or monetary contribution, contact MU Extension in Howard County at 660-248-2272 or Heather Conrow at hconrow@missouri.edu.

Photo courtesy of Howard County Extension Office.