Feeding Families with Alabama-Raised Beef: A Community Collaboration Tackles Food Insecurity
The food pantry outreach offered by The Link of Cullman County has taken a significant step forward, thanks to a new partnership between a Cullman-based cattle farmer and a meat-processing colleague. This collaboration has enabled The Link to add Alabama-raised meat to the menu of food items it provides to area residents in need, addressing the growing demand for donated food in the region.
Uniting Rural Producers and Urban Needs for a Stronger Community
Expanding the Pantry's Protein Options
On a recent Wednesday, The Link welcomed the first of what is expected to be many more meat deliveries under this new arrangement. Cattle farmer David Daily and meat processor Titus Weaver unloaded over 500 pounds of ground beef and 200 pounds of breakfast sausage, all donated to bolster the pantry's offerings. This centerpiece protein addition will soon find its way onto tables across Cullman County, providing nourishment to families in need.Daily, a Cullman resident with a large beef operation near Russellville, and Weaver, who helps run his family's Weaver Meat Processing business in Hartselle, are both members of the Cullman-headquartered Alabama Farm Credit cooperative. It was through this shared connection that Alabama Farm Credit became involved, hoping to inspire more area beef producers to donate a portion of their product to outreach agencies like The Link.
A Symbiotic Relationship Benefiting the Entire Community
"It's a good intermeshing of our rural community with sort of the city aspect of Cullman, and the broader needs of Cullman County," explained Alabama Farm Credit CEO Mel Koller. "We're a mission-driven organization, and we're specifically driven to help production agriculture in the rural communities. So this is a wonderful crossover where the producers are involved, the processors are involved, the community's involved, and The Link makes it happen."The partnership not only provides much-needed protein to The Link's food pantry but also offers benefits to the participating farmers. Daily noted that donating a few animals per year is not a significant burden, and the annual tax break further incentivizes their contributions. As the program grows, the hope is that more area producers will join the effort, scaling up the supply of Alabama-raised meat to meet the increasing demand.
Addressing the Surge in Food Insecurity
The need for donated food has only risen since the COVID-19 pandemic, a period during which Daily first conceived the idea of sharing his beef. As The Link board of directors member Jerry Smith explained, inflation has sustained and even expanded this need, with more local families seeking the nonprofit's food pantry services each week."We've seen a 600 percent increase in traffic since the first of this year," said Smith. "And, the thing is, we don't really see that slowing down anytime soon."The Link's Executive Director, Melissa Betts, further elaborated on the growing demand, stating that the organization is currently serving around 800 families in an average month. From January of this year until the recent week, The Link had already served more than 14,000 assistance records, encompassing approximately 4,500 families or households in the community.
Providing a Store-Like Shopping Experience
Located on the city's east side, The Link opens its food pantry twice each week, offering food recipients a store-like shopping experience where families can browse the nonprofit's selection of donated food items. With the addition of Alabama-raised meats, the pantry's options are expanding, providing more nutritious choices for those in need.As Daily hopes, this initiative could grow even larger if more area producers learn of its benefits and begin contributing their own donations. The potential for scaling up the supply of Alabama-raised meat to meet the increasing demand is a key focus for the program's future.
