Beef Battalion, BPI help Harvey victims

The All-American Beef Battalion and Beef Products Inc. have been working hard to serve hot meals to victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Amanda Radke

September 25, 2017

2 Min Read
Beef Battalion, BPI help Harvey victims
All-American Beef Battalion

It’s been nearly a month since Hurricane Harvey swept across the Texas coast, impacting 54 hcounties, 352 miles and 1.2 million beef cows (about 27% of the state’s beef herd). It will certainly take some time for the area to recover, but the agricultural community has banded together to help those struggling in the aftermath of the storm.

For example, in the last couple of weeks, Beef Products, Inc. sent BPI employees, their families and other volunteers from the company headquarters in South Dakota to the affected area. The BPI volunteers traveled to Texas to serve tens of thousands of meals for hurricane victims and volunteer groups.

According to a BPI press release, “All food available was either donated or sold to BPI, including buns from Bimbo Bakery, chips from Frito-Lay, bottled water from Chesterman and 10,500 pounds of hamburger patties provided by Jensen Meats. BPI is also providing 6,000 pounds of taco meat for nachos.”

In order to efficiently transport, prepare and distribute the food, BPI partnered with the Red Cross.

BPI says, “Additional BPI volunteers will come and go over the next 10 days to serve more meals. The company is also covering their volunteers' lodging and meals while they are stationed in southeast Texas.”

In early September, the All-American Beef Battalion (AABB) also headed to Texas to serve beef to volunteers and victims. With beef donated from the National Beef Packing Company and Cargill, the AABB grilled burgers and hotdogs in the parking lot of the Houston Stock Show and Rodeo grounds.

Related:All American Beef Battalion Serves Up A Thank You

Hot meals were served to first responders, the National Guard, families at evacuation centers, and members of the Cowboy Church, who have been working to locate and home misplaced cattle. With three cookers with enough space to cook 1,500 burgers at once, the AABB was able to efficiently serve large crowds.

In addition to beef donations, AABB has worked with several sponsors including Superior Livestock Auction, National Credit Corp., Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the SumaGrow staff, Texas CattleWomen and the Kansas Livestock Association.

Along with hot meals, AABB has helped to gather much-needed supplies for victims including baby formula, diapers, toothpaste and toothbrushes, flip flops, feminine products, shampoo and conditioner, bug spray and toilet paper.

For anyone interested in supporting the AABB and its mission, you can learn more about what this group does by clicking here.

It’s been amazing to see cowboys come together to help those in need following the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. My prayers go out to those ranching families and rural communities who are still trying to pick up the pieces following the storm.

Related:ABC News, BPI reach settlement

The opinions of Amanda Radke are not necessarily those of beefmagazine.com or Farm Progress.

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