Keeping with a longstanding tradition that goes hand-in-hand with National Beef Month every year, the Franklin County Cattlemen’s Association recently donated 450 pounds of beef to be used in county and city schools.
The 450 pounds of beef were divided into ground beef, ground chuck and thin-cut steak that students in the family and consumer science (FCS) departments at the different schools can use to make fajitas, hamburgers and other meat dishes.
The donation, which is worth over $1,500, is something the Cattlemen have been doing for over 40 years, and past state president Orland Britnell said the group always looks forward to giving back to the schools.
“We are proud to support the schools in our county and provide them with choice cuts of beef they can use in their classrooms,” Britnell said.
“We hope the donation helps the teachers financially but we also help it teaches the students the importance of beef and how many different ways it can be used.
“Beef is the number one product for protein, which is such an important part of a person’s diet.”
Cattlemen officials presented the beef on Oct. 19 to representatives from Phil Campbell High School, Red Bay High School, Russellville High School and Russellville Middle School, which are the schools in the county with family and consumer science departments.
With school budgets stretched as far as they can go, teachers are thankful for every bit of help they can get these days.
“Our program is enhanced every year by this donation because it allows us to do more food labs than we would have been able to do otherwise,” said Cindy Coan, FCS teacher at Russellville High School.
“Meat is the most expensive thing in our budget, so to have a portion of that just donated to us is just great.”
Russellville Middle School FCS teacher Rachel Agee agreed.
“We can take the funds that would have gone to purchase the beef to purchase other things that will enhance the learning experience for our students,” Agee said.
Sherry Hutcheson, FCS teacher at Red Bay High School, and Monica Creekmore, FCS teacher at Phil Campbell High School, said they planned to use the meat they received in their annual beef cook-off.
“This is something the kids always look forward to and we appreciate the Cattlemen for their continued generosity,” Hutcheson said.