Now, thanks to another grant from the Department of Education — a Farm-to-School Reimbursement Grant for $3,500 — she’s planning to secure donations of beef from Wallowa ranchers and farmers, get those donations processed and into school kitchens in Wallowa, Enterprise and Joseph. “After hearing how the Baker Schools Nutrition Program ran their beef donations, I thought ‘why can’t Wallowa County do that with our local Stockgrowers Association?’” Micka said. “The farm to school conference was a great success and we came home with many ideas.” “The goal, overall, is to get more local foods in all three county schools as well as provide more educational opportunities here at Joseph,” she said. The plan is to have ranchers contact Micka directly and then arrange to send the animal to Billy Bob’s Butcher Shop in Elgin for processing. “We pick the beef up from these sales. And then we process them, and basically, we give them a little break on the cut and wrap (process),” said Billy Oldridge, co-owner of Billy Bob’s Butcher Shop. Oldridge said his motivations for helping the Wallowa schools with this program are straightforward. “We give back to the community that way, because we can,” Oldridge said. “So, if we can give back and pitch in some and buy some animals too, it all comes back eventually,” he said.

Beef Donations

Miranda Micka

May 2, 2024

Now, thanks to another grant from the Department of Education — a Farm-to-School Reimbursement Grant for $3,500 — she’s planning to secure donations of beef from Wallowa ranchers and farmers, get those donations processed and into school kitchens in Wallowa, Enterprise and Joseph.

“After hearing how the Baker Schools Nutrition Program ran their beef donations, I thought ‘why can’t Wallowa County do that with our local Stockgrowers Association?’” Micka said. “The farm to school conference was a great success and we came home with many ideas.”

“The goal, overall, is to get more local foods in all three county schools as well as provide more educational opportunities here at Joseph,” she said.

The plan is to have ranchers contact Micka directly and then arrange to send the animal to Billy Bob’s Butcher Shop in Elgin for processing.

“We pick the beef up from these sales. And then we process them, and basically, we give them a little break on the cut and wrap (process),” said Billy Oldridge, co-owner of Billy Bob’s Butcher Shop.

Oldridge said his motivations for helping the Wallowa schools with this program are straightforward.

“We give back to the community that way, because we can,” Oldridge said. “So, if we can give back and pitch in some and buy some animals too, it all comes back eventually,” he said.

-Wallowa County Chieftain

Check out the Wallowa County Chieftain for the full article.