A non-profit has launched in the Foothills whose mission is to aid those experiencing food insecurity by connecting ranchers with local food banks.
The brainchild of Jay Cross and Shelly Faulkner, the Foothills Farm Table Collective facilitated a donation of 600 pounds of top-quality beef from Tangle Ridge Ranch to the Okotoks Food Bank in late February, the first of what the duo hopes will be a fruitful relationship between ranchers and food banks.
Cross’ family was in the cattle business for decades, running the Bar Pipe Ranch just west of Okotoks, often donating excess beef to the food bank. Forced to sell the herd a few years ago for health reasons, Cross and his family continue to live in the community, so he was looking for another way to give back.
While talking with Faulkner, a dear friend who co-owns the Bluerock Gallery in Diamond Valley, Cross said the idea for the collective came about.
“We began talking over the course of several months about the cost of living and the price of food skyrocketing, and we wondered what we could do,” said Cross. “And then this idea kind of emerged of us not making direct donations, but rather being a facilitator.
“We're just connecting where a connection may not exist.”
He said he’s been pleasantly surprised by the response from ranchers and hopes to create a network that will be able to donate to food banks throughout the Foothills when it makes sense for their operations.
Cross said with demand for food bank services at an all-time high, the launch of the collective couldn’t have come at a better time.
“Whenever there's food insecurity, whether it's lack of availability or prices going up, unfortunately people that are really stretched financially, they're going to just start dropping out protein,” he said. “(Eating) the inexpensive foods or the empty calories, that just creates a cycle that isn't good for people's health.”
Cross said it will be the collective’s responsibility to make ranchers aware they can donate and will use social media to recognize donors, who will receive a tax receipt from the food bank.
He said the initiative will focus on donations from ranchers, but could see it expanding to growers.
“I started with beef because that's my background,” Cross said. “We want to get some momentum and I think one way to do that is just sort of focus on this one niche area, but I'm curious as to what we might be able to do on the vegetable side. We're certainly open to that.”
When Cross reached out to let her know the food bank was in need of fresh meat, Brenda Otto of Tangle Ridge Ranch said her family immediately put the wheels in motion to make the donation happen.
“We are now left feeling very blessed and grateful that we were able to provide so many local families with our delicious, healthy, protein-packed, ranch-raised beef,” said Otto. “Giving back to our amazing community just feels good... it takes a village.”
Executive director Bente Yanota said the Okotoks Food Bank is grateful to Tangle Ridge Ranch and the Foothills Farm Table Collective for the generous donation.
“The support from this program going forward will be crucial for our organization to provide food to our clients, especially when prices for protein are so high. We really are so fortunate to have such a supportive community,” Yanota said.
For more on the Foothills Farm Table Collective, visit fftc.ca.
