Cattle producers understand the nutritional value of beef and protein demand is at an all-time high. While consumers continue to buy beef at retail and through food service, another sector of the population is also in need of this valuable, nutrient dense protein — those dealing with food insecurity.
“Protein is always in demand, and it’s one of the things that is hard to get donated,” says Amy Luginbill, development manager with the Idaho Foodbank. “The Beef Counts program, really helps us ensure we’re able to provide quality beef, quality protein to folks across Idaho.”
Luginbill says 12.7% of the population in Idaho is affected by food insecurity.
“On average we serve 211,000 people throughout the state each month,” she says.
Of the food distributed, 15% is protein.
“Protein is just an essential part of a well-rounded diet,” Luginbill adds. “The Beef Counts program helps us ensure protein is available and we’re meeting the nutrition needs to provide nourishment and food to folks who need it.”
Beef Counts was the first program of its kind and began in Idaho and Washington in 2010 as a rancher-led initiative to provide a more consistent supply of protein to those in need through the Idaho Foodbank. Partners in the collaboration include AgriBeef, the Idaho Cattle Association, the Idaho CattleWomen and the Idaho Beef Council. In Washington, ranchers partner with AgriBeef, the Washington Beef Council and 2nd Harvest. Donations to the program are used to purchase beef.
“The Beef Counts program has allowed us to provide 230,000 servings of beef throughout Idaho last year. This year, we’re on track to meet or exceed that,” Luginbill says.
In total since its inception, Beef Counts has provided more than 2.6 million servings of beef in Idaho and 1.4 million in Washington. And it’s donations from producers that make the difference.
John Hepton, of Hepton Livestock in Wilder, Idaho, has been involved with Beef Counts for five years. As a cattle feeder, he understands the importance of the product he and his customers work so hard to produce and has a mission to uniquely feed the world through beef. His company has always donated beef to local organizations where he has feeding entities. This year, they decided to make a bigger impact.
“We thought ‘What if we could provide 100 meals a day to the Idaho Food Bank that included beef?’. So, we got with the food bank, and they got with the Beef Council. Through the Beef Counts program, we do that every single day,” Hepton says.
Hepton and additional industry partners, like Advantage Veterinary, are excited to have a way for everybody to be involved.
“They’re working in the heat, snow and rain, and they’re proud of what they do,” Hepton says. “They’re proud of how they take care of cattle. They’re proud of the beef they produce. They can all be a part of donating this great product that they put their heart and soul into, and help families in need in Idaho.”
Hepton encourages other ranchers and ag businesses to get involved with the program.
“We’ve had such fun doing it together as a group of cattle feeders,” he says. “We have some of the vendors we do business with and banking institutions donating to Beef Counts now. Our mission is to uniquely feed the world and encourage other people to do the same. We’re really involved in 4-H and FFA, and we want to spread that message as much as we can to use the product that we work so hard to produce to donate to hungry families.”
