How Did This Happen?

It All Started With a Man Named Bob
My name is Sue Young. I’ve been reading for years now about Bob Waldrop and his friends feeding the hungry in the Oklahoma City area. I know Bob because he founded the Oklahoma Food Coop, where I am a member and producer of lamb with Nancy Osborn here at Cordero Farms. The Coop sells food and non-food products that are made in Oklahoma and brings together producers and customers to provide good, healthy, nutritious local food and more.

Bob also founded the Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House community in 1999, which from the beginning has worked in food security. Bob says, “We deliver food each month to people in need who don’t have transportation and thus have difficulty accessing other community food agencies. We deliver mostly to the elderly, to people with disabilities, and to low income working families with temporary hardships. We make 300-350 such deliveries every month. The Dorothy Day Center, a ministry of St. Charles Parish, helps us by providing access through them to the Regional Food Bank and by acting as a food warehouse for us.”

Bob Waldrop

Bob is my friend on Facebook, and recently posted a thank you to those who volunteered to make the most recent food deliveries to those in need. He listed the food items that each person received. I noticed that, other than chicken and thigh quarters, there was no meat included in the delivery. So I asked Bob why. He said, “Meat included in the delivery happens only once or twice a year, depending on donations, as to buy 350 pounds or so to satisfy our monthly deliveries would cost around $1500. The Regional Food Bank, which is where we get most of our food, rarely if ever has beef. We are always long on carbohydrates and short on most everything else.”

What Could I Do?
I was recovering from knee replacement surgery and had way too much time on my hands. I pondered this dilemma all day. Shouldn’t these folks have access to protein, to good clean meat raised the right way? The solution hit me! I’m a sheep farmer, and my farm is surrounded on three sides by folks who raise happy cattle on grass pastures without growth hormones or pesticides. These cows are not a part of the industrial agriculture model of a crowded dirt feedlot where cows are stuffed full of chemicals. So I picked up the phone and called my neighbor Max. “I want to buy a cow from you to feed the hungry,” I said. “And I’m hoping my friends will help.”

A Cow Named Opal
After chatting a while, Max and I agreed I could save money by buying a cow that was ready to be culled. Cattle are culled for many reasons, such as cows that won’t breed, bulls that are sterile, or cows that have a problem giving birth that might later affect their ability to reproduce. To keep such animals would cost the farmer money without generating income. Profit margins are so small for farmers that this is not financially feasible. Max had such a cow, a 1250 pound registered Beefmaster cow named #92, that needed to be culled. She would not breed.

Max said if he took cow #92 to the local sale barn, she would bring between 70 and 90 cents/lb. Click here for updated local prices for cattle. Max asked me to pay him 70 cents a pound, a very fair price indeed! I was ecstatic, but couldn’t bear the thought of calling her cow #92. I am a city girl after all, and I felt that cow deserved a name. So with Bob’s permission I renamed her Opal, after Bob’s grandmother Opal Cassidy, born on a farm outside of Davidson, Oklahoma in the year 1904. Opal used to say about food, we will “get the right eats”. It seemed only fitting. Opal the Cow now had a higher purpose!

Next, I called the local small processor, Country Home Meats in Edmond, Oklahoma. Since the entire cow is being turned into 1 lb packages of hamburger meat, no label is required, and an inspector is not required to be present, we were given a custom rate of .67 per lb. “hanging weight” to process the cow. Opal’s “hanging weight” is approximately 641 lbs, and will yield approximately 385-400 lbs of hamburger. An inspector is not required, because we know the cow was born and raised on one farm and exactly how it was raised, unlike the feedlot processor. If you want more details about the difference between small processors and feedlot processors, click here. But fair warning, once you read this article, you may never eat grocery store meat again.

Here’s Where You Come In
The cost of purchasing and processing Opal is over $1300. Won’t you please donate what you can to help? Any amount would be greatly appreciated. Consider donating the cost of your morning cup of coffee, or the cost of a new pair of shoes. Those of us that have been blessed to have food on our tables can really help those who do not. Every step in the process is transparent. You can see the schedule of dates for each step of the process, and request information at any time. If you have any questions, please email me here. 

What I’ll Do For You
I’ve set up a PayPal fund raising page to handle the donations. Just click on the PayPal button to donate. By using PayPal, I never have access to your financial information, and you can be assured that every penny of your donation will be used to pay for this cow. You can ask me at any time how much is in the PayPal account, and I’ll send you a copy of the PayPal balance page. If more money is raised than is needed to pay for the hamburger Opal generates, it will be given to the Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House to pay for groceries to feed the needy in Oklahoma City.

If you need help setting up a PayPal account, click here. It’s fast and easy.

What Do You Think?
Feel free to comment and provide your feedback. Would you be interested in doing this again with a second cow? What did you think about this process and how could it be improved? Thanks for your feedback!