Supplying the beef

Plant making donations of meat to Island food banks

The Summerside Salvation Army Corps and West Prince Caring Cupboard are the most recent recipients of ground beef donations from Atlantic Beef Products Inc.

Each food bank organization received 75 kilograms on Tuesday, which will be used in the soup kitchen and in food packages for clients.

This was the second of three 150-kg donations Atlantic Beef Products made to food banks across the Island as their way of marking Canada’s 150th birthday.

“The people who come to us often come from low-income backgrounds. They might be relying on welfare or social services, they might have fixed income, or are unemployed or looking for work,” said Sherrill Horne, a volunteer at the Caring Cupboard.

Horne, and fellow volunteer Lynda Leard, have been with the organization for more than 20 years.

“We always try to make sure there is a meat product in each package our clients get. We rely on donations, and this is really something else,” said Leard.

“We’re there to serve them, and we’re glad to do that as best we can.”

Through four locations, Tyne Valley, Tignish, Alberton and O’Leary, the Caring Cupboard serves about 200 clients.

“Meat is an expensive product, and if it isn’t donated to us, we use our funds to go buy what we can to ensure people get the foods they need. This is really important, it’s wonderful,” Horne added.

Horne and Leard will take the beef and divide it into bags of around 1.5 pounds.

“We won’t put more that two pounds in the bags. A lot of our clients are single households and might not eat or need that much.”

Brenda Arsenault, the main cook at the Summerside Salvation Army Corps, says the donation will mean serious savings.

“Of all the meats, beef is probably the kind we use most of. And it’s not cheap. Sometimes you’re looking at $11 or $12. This will allow us to use the money we would spend on meat on something else.” Atlantic Beef Products also donated to Charlottetown, Crapaud, Montague and Souris food banks.

JIM DAY/THE GUARDIAN The first of three donations of 150 kilograms of ground beef to P.E.I. food banks was recently made in Charlottetown. From left are Marianna Burda, co-founder of the South Shore Food Bank; Russ Mallard, president of Atlantic Beef Products Inc.; Mike...

SUBMITTED From left, Lawrence and Marlene Power from the Montague Food Bank and Ronnie Macintosh from Souris Food Bank recently received 150 kilograms of meat from Atlantic Beef Products Inc.

MILLICENT MCKAY/JOURNAL PIONEER Russ Mallard, president of Atlantic Beef Products, loads the trunk with ground beef products for Lynda Leard, left, and Sherrill Horne of the West Prince Caring Cupboard.