SLO Food Bank buys 22 steers from the Mid-State Fair livestock auction to alleviate food insecurity 

The fight against food insecurity in San Luis Obispo County recently gained new ground through a livestock auction at the California Mid-State Fair.

With the help of a $100,000 grant from the Wood-Claeyssens Foundation, the SLO Food Bank purchased 22 steers—young, neutered cattle raised for beef—through a series of bids at the fair on July 29.

Accompanied by CEO Garret Olson, SLO Food Bank board director Joe Simonin served as the bidder that day. The pair surveyed more than 100 steers as they made the purchases. Simonin and his family also donated five hogs to the food bank.

click to enlarge

• Photo Courtesy Of Slo Food Bank
• FAIR TEAM From left to right, SLO Food Bank board member Joe Simonin, Beth Simonin Baxley of Visalia Livestock Market, Mike Smith of Harris Ranch Beef, Randy Baxley of Visalia Livestock Market, and SLO Food Bank CEO Garret Olson came together to coordinate purchasing and processing 22 steers at the recent California Mid-State Fair livestock auction.

Olson told New Times on Aug. 10 that an anonymous donor contributed nine steers to the cause too.

"I was the moneyman and keeping track of how much we had spent," Olson said with a laugh. "It was an open market."

The livestock auction at the Mid-State Fair comprised animals raised by students in two youth establishments: 4-H (head, heart, hands, and health) and the Future Farmers of America (FFA).

"There are some kids that go there with their 4-H and FFA livestock and they have a lot of family members who are interested in purchasing the meat," Olson said. "So they may get a higher price because they've got friends and family who want to do it."

According to Olson, the food bank's presence balanced out the scope of sales for the kids.

"There are other kids who might be there without local community financial backing," he said. "We were there to make sure there was a floor price for the livestock that gave every kid the opportunity to get a fair price for their livestock."

The food bank received a seat at the auction table because of the Wood-Claeyssens Foundation. It's a longtime supporter of hunger relief efforts throughout Central California, 4-H and FFA livestock efforts, and local agriculture industries. Olson added that the foundation is frequently involved with other fairs in the state too.

"Prior to the pandemic, 35 percent of all the meat we provided to our clients came from the fair meat effort on behalf of the Wood-Claeyssens Foundation," he said. "When the pandemic happened, for a myriad of reasons, that effort was disrupted, as was everything in life."

This is the first time the foundation awarded the food bank a grant. The $100,000 was a restricted fund meant for the food bank to purchase livestock at the fair auction.

Other groups joined to help get the food bank to the finish line. Central Valley Meat (also called Harris Ranch Beef) donated the cost of processing the cattle. That price is estimated to be tens of thousands of dollars. Templeton/Visalia Livestock Market offered to coordinate the logistics. Those donations allowed the food bank to purchase double the number of steer because it didn't have to set some of the funds aside to pay for processing and logistics costs.

Olson said that it's estimated to take up to another two weeks for all the meat to be processed and ready for supply. The food bank is waiting for the finished products to arrive. Moreover, the food bank is expecting more livestock from other miscellaneous donations.

"We don't know the head count yet, but we anticipate there are going to be turkeys and chickens, and maybe even some rabbits," Olson said.

Through the food bank's partner network, the majority of the meat will be directly supplied to people in need in 60 locations throughout SLO County. The SLO Food Bank also provides the meat to 85 other nonprofits so that a wider range of people can access it. These include homeless shelters, pantries, and noncongregate feeding operations.

"We really don't care who gets credit for feeding people," Olson said. "We just care that people get fed. The meat will go out under the banner of another organization, and we are super honored to have that partnership network throughout the county."

Fast fact

• Observe International Overdose Awareness Day at Mitchell Park in SLO on Aug. 31. The free event will include a candlelight vigil to honor the lives lost to drug overdoses, a panel of guest speakers who will share insights related to the opioid crisis, a resource fair, and naloxone training. It will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. For more information about SLO's Overdose Awareness Day event and how to get involved, visit sloendoverdose.org or contact Kim Lacey at [email protected]. Δ

Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at [email protected].