Alberta food banks grapple with high cost of free beef

There’s no shortage of beef in southern Alberta, but food banks around Lethbridge are looking for help covering the costs of turning donated cattle into meat they can dish out to clients.

Counties across the province this week endorsed a call for the Alberta government to restart a short-lived pilot program from 2014 that covered the associated costs of butchering, inspecting and packaging thousands of packs of hamburger given to food bank clients.

During the provincial pilot, meant to develop a business case for the model, Lethbridge-area ranchers delivered 130 animals, resulting in nearly 17,700 kilograms of ground beef for four food banks in southwest Alberta.

After the funding dried up, the Interfaith Food Bank Society of Lethbridge continued to accept cattle from ranchers through local butchers, paying for them with its own money.

The organization is now looking to increase livestock donations as a way to side-step high beef prices, but officials say adding cash expenses during a time of record demand could strain budgets.  

“We did the pilot for two years, and lo and behold, it works,” said Danielle McIntyre, the food bank’s manager.

Her agency is looking for corporate sponsors and reaching out to the farm community to “get the message out there that, yes, this program still exists.” In the past year, cattle producers only donated 12 cows to the Lethbridge food bank.

And, she said, the current program relies entirely on monetary donations to cover the cost of processing the animals — between $600 and $800 per cow. It’s a bargain compared to buying the same amount of meat wholesale, but still a “struggle for us,” said McIntyre.

A similar beef donation program in Medicine Hat, sponsored by that city’s Kinsmen Club, spent around $10,000 last year to process about $30,000 worth of ground beef for the Root Cellar Food and Wellness Hub.

Ranchers willing, but want broader support

“I think a lot of farmers are happy to help out where they can, but if some of the cost of processing could be offset, makes it a little more palatable,” said Ryan Kasko, who has donated cattle from his feedlot near Lethbridge.

He estimates the donation of a premium animal could be valued at up to $5,000. That equates to a tax-deductible gift, but he said the act touches on the charitable nature of agricultural producers and promotes community.

It’s not without its benefits to ranchers, either.

Donating livestock helps Andrea Stroeve-Sawa manage her herd, brings down feeding costs and avoids the meat going to waste. She notes ranchers may have an animal that is underperforming or wouldn’t earn much at auction.

Stroeve-Sawa ranches near the town of Taber and has supported the Taber Food Bank with both money and livestock over the years.

“I’m a huge believer in getting quality protein to people in our community,” she said.

“The easy part is donating the animal, but getting it cut and wrapped and to the consumer — even if the consumer is at the food bank … there’s a cost,” she said. 

“Anything that could offset the cost of processing would obviously be a great help.”

Province says no funding for request

Tamara Miyanaga, the reeve of the Municipal District of Taber and a volunteer with the Taber Food Bank, can empathize. She spearheaded a resolution at the Rural Municipalities of Alberta conference this month asking for new provincial money to offset the costs of accepting free beef.

“When we see the willingness of a donor and the inability to cut and wrap and provide a stable protein source, we’re going to look at the government,” she said.

Officials with Alberta’s Agriculture and Irrigation Ministry told CBC News there is currently no program available to fund the request. It pointed to facility grants available to food banks, as well as $5 million in ongoing food security funding.

Still, McIntyre in Lethbridge hopes to “get to a point where there is always money available for food banks to process these animals whenever they are offered.”