Jefferson County Cattlemen, Packwood Locker donate beef to Lord’s Cupboard

FAIRFIELD — The Jefferson County Cattlemen and Packwood Locker teamed up to donate about 70 cans of beef to The Lord’s Cupboard food pantry in Fairfield.

Peyton Greiner, who has owned Packwood Locker for four years, said he tries to do that sort of community outreach with the cattlemen at least once a month. He said he’s a big proponent of shopping locally, encouraging residents to spend money with businesses that are paying into the local tax base and sending their kids to the local schools.

“It wouldn’t be right for me to stand on my soapbox and ask for local support if I’m not also supporting the community,” Greiner said. “That’s our philosophy, and always has been.”

The Lord’s Cupboard staff have put out calls for canned meat before because, for whatever reason, it is rarely donated to the pantry.

In 2021, then Lord’s Cupboard director Laura Cohen remarked, “When people think of buying items to donate, their minds seem to go more in the direction of canned vegetables and soups. Those are absolutely valuable, too, and are items that we give out with every full food order. But the canned meats are almost always in short supply on our shelves.”

The Lord’s Cupboard current director, Susan Frey, said the food pantry is always in need of canned sources of protein. She said the food pantry is especially busy in the summer months, and in July served 779 families.

Zoe Moritz of Jefferson County Cattlemen remarked that 2022 has been a busy year already for the cattlemen. The organization hosted perhaps one of its largest events ever on July 28 when it invited the public to celebrate food producers in Jefferson County with a meal and program at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center. The cattlemen grilled a meal with help from the Jefferson County Pork Producers, and Sweet ‘n Saucy supplied the sides.

The guest speaker that day was children’s author Amanda Radke, who read from her book “Levi’s Lost Calf” to a group of about 20 kids. Later, the group moved from the expo hall into the theater where Radke gave a presentation on how to advocate for agriculture, and the beef industry specifically.

Moritz said the cattlemen were pleased with how the event turned out, though she acknowledged that the “attendance could have been higher.”

“We’ll brainstorm other ideas for what we can do next year,” Moritz said.

Moritz said one of the highlights from the event was making connections with local businesses. Nisan and Helenee Alva, who own the Hungry Camel restaurant and food truck, attended the cattlemen’s event. Someone in the audience asked Radke what kind of cattle she raised, and she answered with limousine. Helenee said that was interesting because they used to live next to a limousine cattle ranch in Israel.

Moritz said this conversation prompted a discussion between the cattlemen and the Alvas about the Mediterranean dishes they serve at the Hungry Camel, which were unfamiliar to most of the cattlemen. When it came time for the cattlemen and Greiner family to go to the Lord’s Cupboard for the donation, Moritz suggested the group eat at the Hungry Camel. That’s when Greiner mentioned that he supplies all the chicken and beef served at the restaurant. When the group entered the restaurant, Nisan served them a few special beef appetizers so they could do a taste test of foods that were new to them.

“He served us some things that I hadn’t had a chance to try,” Greiner said. “It was nice to see the finished product of the work we do for him. Nisan was a customer of mine when he worked at another restaurant, and when he went out on his own, he came to me and told me what he needed, and we figured out what best suited his needs.”

Moritz said the cattlemen have one more big event to round out the summer, and that will be grilling at the Barnyard Bash at Maasdam Barns on Sept. 9.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com