Our First Delivery!

Today we delivered our first round of beef to Marysville Joint Unified School District and Wheatland Elementary School District.  I woke up with butterflies in my stomach, and a permanent smile on my face! 

At 9 am I went to Harriger’s Meat Locker to pick up the meat, and learned that although I was originally told the meat was 150 pounds, I failed to take into consideration that that was the pre-processed weight.  So, unfortunately, instead of 150 pounds we had 80 pounds to deliver.  This is all such a learning process – now I know!

With our personal meat being packaged as well, and ready for pick up on Monday, we are going to add an additional 20 pounds to today’s delivery so that each school district will get a total of 50 pounds for distribution.

Despite the snafu, I had a blast meeting the people I’ve been working with at the school districts to get this whole project under way.

Jamie and Edwin from MJUSD

John and Michelle from WESD

This afternoon, MJUSD will be sending their 50 pounds of meat home with the children they’ve identified as being the most in need.  WESD is housing their meat until Monday, when it will be picked up in exchange for vouchers they created for the designated families in their district. 

Thanks to Dave G. and Dean, managers at Raley’s of Yuba City, we were also able to provide Cold Sacks for transporting the meat from the districts. 

This whole experience has been incredibly rewarding for me, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.  I appreciate all of the hard work that so many people have put in to get us to this point!

Meat for Dinner

Meat for Dinner is a charitable organization dedicated to helping struggling families. 

Its founders are Andrea and Jeremy Edwards, who own and operate a small ranch in Yuba County, California.  They realized how many families in their community could benefit from the donation of a portion of their beef and pork cattle, and decided to ask other local ranchers to donate as well.

Meat for Dinner works closely with the Marysville Unified School District and Wheatland Elementary School District to identify families in need.  When it becomes available, these families receive the first distribution of packaged meat to make meals at home. 

Anyone can receive our donated meat – there’s no paperwork, no qualifications other than need.  In our current economy, families in our community are having to choose between paying for electricity and purchasing food.  We hope these families can rest easier for a day or two, while making meals from our donated meat. 

At the heart of Meat for Dinner is the concept of communitization, or “neighborly love”, where community members unite to help those among them who are struggling in hard times.  For centuries, members of agricultural communities have helped each other through myriad difficulties.  We hope that through Meat for Dinner, our community can band together in a way that will benefit all those who live in it.