Nebraska Ag Groups Become the Silver Lining During Pandemic
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NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
2021 - VOLUME 1
Nebraska Ag Groups Become the
Silver Lining During Pandemic
Nebraska agriculture has always responded “That is five and a half million more meals than the
positively when needed most. The state’s farmers, previous fiscal year.”
ranchers, agri-businesses and ag organizations
have risen to the task time and time again. Such Food Bank for the Heartland, based in Omaha,
has been the case since the onset of COVID-19. serves a total of 93 counties in Nebraska and
western Iowa. Since the pandemic, the number of
As the pandemic spread across the state, people served through the Food Bank and its food
everything changed. Schools closed and switched pantry partners increased more than 40 percent.
to remote learning, and many businesses had to
slow or shutdown operations as well. The loss of “We are seeing families and individuals who never
jobs and income with businesses and meal options expected to be in a situation where they needed
at school resulted in a rapidly increasing number of food assistance that are now seeking that help,”
families and individuals needing food assistance. said Grote. “I know the pandemic has affected us all
and has had a devasting impact on many families.”
“Last fiscal year (July 1, 2019-June 30, 2020), the
Food Bank for the Heartland distributed more than Recognizing that urgent need for food assistance,
28 million meals across our service area,” Food several Nebraskans involved in agriculture found a
Bank Communications Manager Angie Grote said. way to step up and provide a helping hand.
Staff and volunteers at the Open Door Mission in Omaha proudly display the cold storage unit
they were able to purchase through a grant program. Photo courtesy of AFAN.
The map illustrates the counties across the state where food pantries received cold storage grants. Some counties had multiple pantries that
applied and received grants. Illustration courtesy of AFAN.
Cold Storage and Dairy with Midwest Dairy and currently Bousquet. “With those dollars, we
Products with AFAN and the Nebraska were able to buy stockpiled bulk
State Dairy Association. “With dairy products and repackage
Farmers and ranchers across processing plants cutting them for donation.”
the state felt the rippling effects production, there were a lot of
of COVID-19 as it spread across large bulk items such as cheese, Midwest Dairy, which represents
the country. The food industry butter and sour cream being 11 states, was given the
was among the hardest hit stockpiled.” opportunity to use up to
as many restaurants had to $500,000 for purchases of
reduce capacity or shutdown. While overall demand for food the surplus products with a
Not only did it mean a loss of and dairy products decreased portion of those products to be
jobs and income, it also meant in restaurants and schools, it distributed in Nebraska.
food suppliers had no place to increased for food banks and
distribute their products. That food pantries across Nebraska. The Food Bank for the Heartland
was especially true for the dairy Midwest Dairy realized there was and the Food Bank of Lincoln
industry which was also greatly an alternative destination for all served as the distribution hubs
impacted by the shutdown of those nutritious products. in Nebraska. Food pantries
many school lunchrooms, one statewide could then make
of the larger consumers of dairy “Midwest Dairy requested USDA requests for products. However,
products. to grant a waiver that would it was soon discovered that the
allow checkoff-funded dairy pantries had their own specific
“When restaurants and schools entities, such as themselves, challenges. While there was a
had to shut down to help prevent to use funds to purchase real need for dairy products for
the spread of COVID, it created products that could be donated their clients, many of the pantries
a drastic decline in demand,” to food banks who in turn would had little or no cold storage for
said Kris Bousquet, formerly distribute to food pantries,” said perishable items.
“We decided to open up
additional funding that could
be used by the pantries to
purchase refrigeration units,” said
Bousquet. “We worked with some
of our Nebraska dairy farmers
who went to their local pantries
and assisted them in applying for
grants as needed.”
It wasn’t long before the
requests from food pantries for
refrigeration units far exceeded
UNL faculty and staff loading packages of pork donations headed for distribution to a food
the available funds from Midwest bank. Photo courtesy of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Dairy. That’s when the Alliance
for the Future of Agriculture in secure additional funding for cold storage units were awarded
Nebraska (AFAN) stepped in to more cold storage units, and our to food pantries across the
assist. staff was able to use a portion of state of Nebraska allowing them
its time to administer the project.” to purchase industrial-grade
“Our membership includes refrigeration and/or freezer units.
a large contingency of farm Martin and Bousquet also
organizations and commodity received support from Nebraska Thanks to the cold storage
groups in Nebraska, and I Department of Agriculture units those pantries now have
knew they would be willing (NDA) Director Steve Wellman. the ability to store all types
to contribute to a project that He assisted in providing of perishable items including
provided assistance statewide,” additional funds from NDA, as dairy products as well as beef
AFAN Executive Director Steve well as coordinating with other and pork, which have also been
Martin said. “We were able to agriculture partners. donated as part of the pandemic
food aid campaign.
“NDA was a vital
partner in making Pork Cares
this project work,”
said Martin. “It was It started with a spark from one
important to have Nebraska pig producer. Then
Director Wellman through a collaboration with
involved in the the University of Nebraska-
project in order to Lincoln and the Nebraska Pork
be able to expand it Producers, the Pork Cares
statewide and assist campaign provided more than
a larger number of 10,000 pounds of pork that was
food pantries seeking packaged or served at food
refrigeration units.” pantries and soup kitchens.
Through those Due to COVID-19, several pork
The cold storage grants allowed several food pantries,
such as the one in Fullerton, to purchase refrigerator- united efforts, processing plants in Nebraska
freezers that help them serve their rural communities. approximately 45 slowed or shutdown production
Photo courtesy of AFAN.
as work forces were reduced
due to illness. These changes
led to a backlog for the state’s
pork producers who had few
places to take their animals to be
processed.
Columbus pig producer Bill
Luckey decided to take action
to find a way to utilize some
of the pigs in order to assist
food pantries who were seeing
a growing number of people
needing food assistance.
“We wanted to make sure these
Pork being processed at the UNL Loeffel Meat Laboratory.
pigs could be used somewhere Photo courtesy of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
but we had to figure out a way
to get them processed,” said out to open up the Loeffel of what became known as
Luckey. “I was talking to a friend, Meat Laboratory. Luckey was the Pork Cares Campaign.
and we realized that with many familiar with the meat lab having The Nebraska Pork Producers
universities shut down, perhaps worked there himself in the late Association was a natural fit for
some of the meat labs would be 70s, followed by two sons who that role.
available to process the pork.” worked there as well.
“Pork producers in our state
Luckey, an alumnus at the With a processing procedure tend to be very philanthropic,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in place, it was time to add and the response we received
reached out to his alma mater another partner to assist with the when we took on this project
and soon details were worked promotion and implementation was positive,” Nebraska Pork
Producers Director of Domestic
Marketing Jane Stone said. “This
positive attitude was already
evident by the successful Hams
Across America program we do
every year. So, the Pork Cares
Campaign was something I knew
we could successfully handle.”
On a rainy day in June, Luckey
took the first load of pigs to the
Loeffel Meat Lab to be processed
by staff, professors and grad
students. Thanks to some of the
pig buyers in the Columbus area,
and promotion by the Nebraska
Pork burgers being grilled and ready for serving at area food pantries and soup kitchens. Pork Producers Association,
Photo courtesy of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
more farmers donated pigs to be
processed. By the end of August,
a total of 72 pigs had been
donated and processed.
Much of the packaged pork was
donated to the Lincoln Food
Bank who in turn distributed it to
food pantries in Lancaster and
the surrounding counties they
service.
In addition, Stone worked with
the National Pork Board to host
grilling events in Lincoln and
Omaha to serve pork burgers to
food pantry and soup kitchen
Former Nebraska Beef Council member Dawn Caldwell and Nebraska Extension Educator
clients. Hannah Guenther submitted selfies sporting “Good Life. Great Steaks” t-shirts.
“We did save some of the bellies Good Life, Great Steaks with a map of Nebraska and
at the meat lab so animal science the wording “Good Life. Great
students could learn to process Like most ag industries in the Steaks.” inside the image of the
them into bacon this past fall,” state, the beef industry also felt state.
said Stone. “Once processed, the impacts of COVID in 2020.
we were able to donate the Low prices and distribution “The response was
bacon and some ground pork to challenges made it a tough go overwhelmingly positive,” said
the Platte County Food Pantry, at times. Despite the challenges, Wegner. “It was a win-win
Lincoln Food Bank, People’s City cattle producers also wanted because we were able to quickly
Mission and the Husker Food to help families and individuals raise funds for the food banks
Pantry.” needing food assistance during and promote Nebraska as a top
difficult times. producer of quality beef.”
It took a cooperative effort
by all three partners: area pig “After hearing from our producers In just five weeks, the Beef
producers, the University of that they wanted to help, we Council sold more than 1,200
Nebraska and the Nebraska started looking at projects that t-shirts. The approximately
Pork Producers Association, to fit best for us,” Nebraska Beef $8,000 raised was donated to
make the Pork Cares project a Council Director of Marketing the Food Bank of Lincoln and
success. That success did not Adam Wegner said. “We came Food Bank for the Heartland,
go unnoticed by fellow livestock up with an idea where we could who between them, serve all 93
producers in the beef industry raise funds to donate to the food Nebraska counties.
who found a way to contribute banks and promote beef at the
to the cause of helping people in same time.” Because of the promotion’s
need of food. success, the Beef Council
Playing off the popular conducted a second phase of the
“Nebraska…the Good Life” theme, project this past fall selling more
the Beef Council created t-shirts than 300 additional shirts.
“We are so grateful to be Thoughtful thinking, great NDA and all the many people and
partnering with these great organization and teamwork organizations that came together
organizations in the state of led all these organizations and to make these donations
Nebraska,” said Heartland’s their constituents to reach out possible, are the heart and soul
Grote. “Helping a neighbor is a to all areas of the state and of Nebraska agriculture and
priority for them. They realized lend a helping hand when it was represent everything good that
they would be helping a lot of needed most. Midwest Dairy, the the industry has to offer.
people, especially during the Nebraska Pork Producers, the
pandemic.” Nebraska Beef Council, AFAN,
The Dairy Ripple Effect
When Midwest Dairy launched Snodgrass moved forward director, Bev Anderson, was
its cold storage grant and filled out the application having dairy products to fill the
campaign, they wanted to take for a cold storage grant for cooler.”
it to a grassroots level. This the food pantry. However,
meant proactively recruiting during the process he found Automated Dairy Specialists
dairy owners to contact local out from the pantry volunteers, then made the commitment
food pantries to evaluate their that not only did the pantry to supply 15 gallons of milk
need for cold storage. lack cold storage capacity, but and 30 units of other dairy
they also did not have funding products such as butter and
Dairyman Heath Snodgrass, to purchase dairy and other cheese, each month. It didn’t
of Royal, Nebraska, took perishable products. take long before it was realized
advantage of the opportunity. the food pantry needed even
To fill that funding gap, more milk so that amount was
“After Kris Bousquet contacted Snodgrass enlisted the upped to 25 gallons a month.
me, I made a call to the help of his dairy equipment
Antelope County Food Pantry supplier, Automated Dairy “Our philosophy is that if a
which is centrally located in Specialists, LLC, located in gallon of milk can help one
our county,” said Snodgrass. “I the western part of Antelope child get a better start to
soon found out that they did County in Clearwater. Once school each day, it will just
indeed lack any capacity to the grant was secured and the make him a better learner and
store perishable items.” cold storage unit purchased, his life will just be better all the
Automated Dairy jumped in to way around,” said Bellingtier.
Volunteers at the food pantry assist in more ways than one.
were excited about the Bellingtier said Automated
possibility to receive a grant “The first thing we did was Dairy plans to continue
from Midwest Dairy since it to send our guys to the food their commitment to the
would allow them to store pantry to unload and install the food pantry. She added that
and distribute dairy products, cold storage unit,” Automated the project fits into their
something they had not been Dairy Manager Connie philosophy of helping those
able to do. Bellingtier said. “The next in need while supporting the
concern for the food pantry’s state’s dairy industry.
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