“Beef-to-Faculty” program provides greater than 30K kilos of meat to West River colleges

RAPID CITY, S.D. — It’s the third yr for Wall Meats’ “Beef-to-Faculty” program they usually’re going robust.

Co-owner Ken Charfauros says he heard concerning the concept from a governor’s summit, and introduced the concept to the Wall Financial and Ag Committee. Colleges throughout western South Dakota are taking discover.

“We now have 16 colleges on board,” Charfauros says. “We course of…in all probability this yr we did 30,000 kilos of beef to our colleges.”

They’ve labored with almost 70 producers on the neighborhood effort.

“I feel it’s essential for the faculties one, as a result of it’s in fact native protein, and for the producers it helps them additionally have the ability to give to their neighborhood and supply for the youngsters,” says Ken’s nephew, Dan Charfauros, a plant manager-in-training.

Household-run Wall Meats says there’s an financial profit as effectively.

“Our producers become involved with their neighborhood by donating beef, or we will buy [that] beef from producers which can be keen to promote us beef for the ‘Beef to Faculty’ program,” Charfauros provides. “That retains the economic system proper right here; or the income proper right here within the native space.”

Charfauros says colleges aren’t simply offering more healthy meals, however saving cash as effectively.

“They’d buy beef product from us…or protein…after which the financial savings that they’ll get, they’ll channel that to different meals throughout the faculty; they’ll purchase brisker greens, brisker fruits,” Charfauros says.

Wall Meats is seeking to develop this system, and have already got extra colleges.