Oklahoma’s Farm Bureau is Beefing Up Kids’ Backpacks

Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s Beef for Backpacks and Pork for Packs program brings together several organizations from across the state, including the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Foundation, FFA, and the state’s two main food banks, to provide protein to more than 35,000 chronically hungry children each week.

Much of the meat for the protein sticks distributed in the kids’ backpacks comes from FFA members who donate their show cattle and hogs at the end of the spring and fall show seasons.

Oklahoma Farm Bureau coordinates the animal collection and care at the state’s two largest youth livestock events: the Oklahoma Youth Expo, held in March, and the Tulsa State Fair, held in October. In addition to working with event staff to collect the animals, Oklahoma Farm Bureau coordinates transportation to and processing of the animals at several processing plants across the region.

The custom-labeled protein sticks are delivered to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma for inclusion in the backpack program. The backpacks are then distributed to schools across Oklahoma for students facing food insecurity to take home for the weekend.

FFA Hunger Challenge

Through the FFA Hunger Challenge, Oklahoma FFA Association chapters compete for awards for supplying the most donated animals and for cash donations to help offset the transportation, processing and other costs, which many chapters raise by adding 25 cents to each fundraising item they sell throughout the year.

In 2024, FFA members donated 265 hogs to the program, which created 424,000 protein sticks. Monetary donations totaled $8,703.

By combining the FFA cash donations with additional funds from the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, the coalition donated $20,000 to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, the primary food bank partner of the program, and $10,000 to the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. The donation to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma was strategically given during a dollar-for-dollar match window, doubling the coalition’s impact.

All participating FFA chapters were recognized at the Oklahoma FFA Convention in May 2024. Winning chapters were presented awards celebrating their animal and cash donations.

In addition to protein stick and monetary donations, Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s collaboration with the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma in 2024 included 370 volunteer hours through various youth programs.