Annually in the month of June, the San Joaquin/Stanislaus CattleWomen donate $500 worth of beef to a charity, at $250 each, in the two counties. This year, the Salvation Army of Modesto (Stanislaus) and of Stockton (San Joaquin) were chosen to receive the donation of beef. The Salvation Army centers were able to choose any cut or combination of cuts of beef.
CattleWomen representative and Oakdale resident Di Kanz met with the Oakdale Save Mart Supermarket store manager Dan Kohnen and meat manager Alan Borba on June 24 to present the check to the grocery store and set up the meat transaction for the Modesto Salvation Army.
Brian Aird, the business coordinator for the Salvation Army’s Modesto Citadel, said that they have a feeding program for the homeless of about 150 to 200 people daily, in which the beef donation will help meet the protein needs for the people who are served.
“A donation like this really helps us expand our budget. It helps us give nutritional meals,” Aird said, adding that it’s heartwarming, too, that an organization would make this type of donation to their program.
“We’ll probably use a lot of the hamburger in spaghetti meals,” he said. “We also have a transitional living program for veterans. We’ll have a Fourth of July cookout for them.”
The Modesto Salvation Army’s transitional living programs are for men and women, one serves 20 veterans and another serves 20 non-veterans. In addition, during the summer, Aird said their shelter hosts about 32 people in the evening, and in the winter the emergency shelter hosts about 100.
Kanz, who is the Beef Promotion and Education chairperson for her chapter, said that the meat donation program is a statewide program for the California CattleWomen’s Association. She noted that each chapter in the state chooses its favorite charity in which to donate the beef.
Kanz reported that the CattleWomen have donated to different charities over the years but have donated several times to the Salvation Army.
“It reaches the most people,” she said.
The Salvation Army’s Stockton center received its beef donation approximately two weeks ago.
The Stanislaus San Joaquin chapter of CattleWomen also donate beef, provide helpful nutrition information and cooking demonstrations, as well as other useful items including produce, chicken, and dairy products for the cooking classes in home economics programs in area schools throughout Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties.
Kanz said that the CattleWomen also provide scholarships, and teach about ranch life and “where your food comes from” in the schools. She added that in 2011 so far, they’ve reached more than 7,600 students and adults.
