Raider Beef program puts local beef in school cafeterias

School lunches in Sidney are being sourced more locally this year.

Through a partnership with the Cheyenne County Farm Bureau and local agriculture producers, the Sidney Public School District is able to serve local beef to students.

“It’s a new program that we just started this school year,” said Tyson Narjes, Cheyenne County Farm Bureau president.

The Raider Beef program, headed by the local Farm Bureau, accepts donations in the form of cattle. They also accept funds to purchase cattle to provide beef for the school district.

The only cost to the district is the transportation of the animals to a USDA certified slaughter plant and the processing.

“There’s going to be a lot of money saved for the school system, and they’ve pledged to help us start a K-12 ag education program, which by my understanding, has never happened at Sidney Public Schools,” Narjes explained.

Locally produced beef will be included in school lunches a minimum of three times every 10 days. The Farm Bureau estimates it will need 15 animals per year for the program.

A few head of cattle have already gone through the program and the cafeteria is using more beef than it planned because it’s going so well, Narjes added.

“Now we’re trying to scramble and find enough head of livestock to make it work,” he said.

The Farm Bureau has reached out to its 400 Cheyenne County members and is also contacting businesses to seek monetary donations.

Jennifer Gipfert, who works in ag promotion and education for the Farm Bureau at the state level, said the goal is to create a sustainable program.

“We’re trying to make it a program that’s going to be self-sustaining for the future,” she said. “In a new thing like this, we’ve put a lot of work into it and we’d really like to see it succeed – so we’re going to need help from the community.”

Gene Russell, assistant principal at North and South elementary schools, said he’s heard positive feedback about the program.

“A lot of members of the community who have been aware of it have come back and said they really appreciate it,” he said.

The ag education component that will be created in conjunction with the Raider Beef program is still being worked out, Russell explained, but it will be presented in conjunction with the Farm Bureau.

Gipfert said the ultimate goal, which could be years down the road, is to get an FFA program at the school district.

“We’d really like to see that happen, so we’re trying to help the school save money to be able to redistribute it somehow to a program like that,” she said.

Recently, the Cheyenne County Farm Bureau received national recognition for its efforts to get local beef included in school lunches.

“We just found out two weeks ago that we won an award for the county excellence in ag program,” Gipfert said.

Representatives from the local farm bureau will travel to Orlando, Fla., in January to present an exhibit at a trade show.

Narjes said similar farm-to-school programs are taking in place in nearly a dozen communities throughout Nebraska.

“The whole ‘buy local, eat local’ has exploded over the last few years and this is really just a program to bring it home,” he said, “and everybody gets to take advantage of it – especially the school system.”

Narjes said he hopes the program can be expanded to other school districts in the county in the future.

What: Raider Beef program – providing local beef to Sidney schools.

Who: The Cheyenne County Farm Bureau is seeking donations of cattle or funds from individuals and businesses.

When: Contributions are being sought now.

How: For more information, contact the local Farm Bureau at (308) 254-4193.