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.

“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.