If I Lived in Wyoming

I grew up in Wyoming. The state is clean and pure. The populace consists of really good people. Most are friendly. Nearly all are honorable. Many have a great deal of pride.

If I lived in Wyoming I wouldn't be as concerned about having my car break down on some long lonely highway (and trust me, there is PLENTY of long lonely stretches of highway in Wyoming). If you break down on the road in Wyoming someone will stop and help you. It's that simple. It's simple because stopping to help is the right thing to do.

I remember one time at the top of Togwottee Pass I got a bit careless (I say it that way trying not to expose the utter stupidity of my action) and buried our car in a snowbank. In mere minutes I met a man with a pick-up truck and shortly after that we were attaching a chain from his hitch to the frame of my car. As he pulled me out of the ditch he asked me about what happened and I told him the story. He looked at my shirt (which proudly announced me as "a Wyoming Native") for a moment and then his eyes met mine.

"Well buddy, I'm happy to help you out" he explained and then went on "but I'm a bit embarrassed to see you wearing that shirt".

People from Wyoming typically speak the simple, basic truth. My wife (who insisted I not do what ultimately put the car in the snow bank) and I often fondly remember that day and the unknown man from Wyoming.

If I lived in Wyoming I would want to be just like him.

If I lived in Wyoming I would have a great deal of pride about my state and the people who call it home. I would hold my head high knowing I lived in a state where we respect those around us.

If I lived in Wyoming I would be surrounded by people who work an honest day, aren't shy about standing up for what we believe in, and never stood so tall that we can't reach down to give a hand to those in need.

If I lived in Wyoming I would be pretty much convinced that I was surrounded by folks who could outperform just about ANY Texan.

If I lived in Wyoming and learned that the Texans were currently 82.5 pounds of meat ahead of the folks from my state in food pantry donations it would really bother me.

If I lived in Wyoming I expect I would be doing something about that.

I sure would.

Basis

Some of you might be wondering what compelled me to start the 1000 Pounds of Meat project. Here is the basis of this effort.

Part A: Job Loss

For the last 4 or 5 years (we started the madness prior to the economic down turn) the Fortune 100 computer company I worked for (EDS) had been laying off a large number of people.

I often considered the fact that many Americans, even people who are well paid, more or less live paycheck to paycheck. For a few years it wasn't as big an issue because even though the computer industry was shrinking (most of our jobs are going off shore) there was work in other sectors of the economy.

Then the housing bubble popped, the stock market auggered in and HP bought EDS. Suddenly HP was laying off 40,000 of my co-workers (maybe me) and the prospect of these folks finding another job quickly wasn't good.

Part B: The Pig

I have a neighbor 3 doors down, let's call him Robbie (because that's really his name and all) that we have known since he was born. Robbie is currently a High School Junior and has been raising a hog as an FFA project.

The hog (tipping the scales close to 300 pounds) reached an age where it was starting to get mean as the school year was reaching a point where FFA projects needed to come to an end. Robbie stopped by our house to tell us he needed to sell his pig and asked if we would be interested in buying half.

Part C: The Interview.

A few days later there was a radio expose' going into how many families in North Texas are struggling. It was exploring these difficult times from the prospective of a young professional couple who had both lost their jobs. He had a bachelor's degree and got laid off by MCI. She had a master's degree and got laid off by HP as a result of the EDS acquisition (one of the 40,000).

The interview took place in a line at a food pantry. They had been out of work long enough that all the severance was gone. The unemployment checks weren't enough to pay for housing, utilities, transportation and kid expenses. There wasn't enough money left for food and these folks needed some help.

The Basis formula: A+B+C > Self Focus

I expect the radio story would have touched me even if the woman didn't recently work in the same building as me. Michelle and I have been quite blessed throughout our lives and our kids are now all grown. We're done paying for college. We're done paying for weddings. Our money is ours again (that's right - hard to comprehend for some of you, but someday it actually comes back home). I'm still close enough to raising children that I can emphathize with the stress of being capable of providing yet not having the necessary opportunities.

Michelle and I had talked about the pig earlier and already decided we didn't need that much pork so we were inclined to pass.

Suddenly the pieces were falling into place - but in a different puzzle. I contacted the North Texas Food Bank (to ensure they could take that much meat) and when I got a green light from them I contacted Robbie and told him I was in.

I started out trying to decide if I should donate half the pig (about 120 pounds), or the whole thing.

Then I started thinking about what God has given me. Sure, I've got some extra money now that the kids are raised, but I've also been blessed with pretty decent communication and organization skills (and I still know a bit about making computers do some work for me).
From there I quickly asked myself if the "donate 120 vs 240 pounds of meat" question was the right one. Why not 500 pounds of meat. Why not 1000?

Well the rest is history. I called Robbie and told him I would take the whole pig. I started the 1000 pounds of meat blog. I started writing these articles...

The Value of Silence

16 Pounds of Meat!

7 Pounds of Mystery Meat
6 Pounds of Beef
3 Pounds of Chicken.

And (at no extra charge) I got to be the first one done eating. Thanks (and a tip-o-the-hat) to Michelle Crawford, Diane Scovill and Deb Duty.

Why Meat?

Ever see those TV commercials that are trying to talk you out of your money? I imagine they send camera crews out into villages with instructions to find the saddest, most depressing images they can find in an attempt to put you on just the right kind of guilt trip. The plan, it seems to me, is to make you feel so horrible that you are compelled to throw some money at their cause.

The answer to the question "Why Meat" is simple. Meat is smiles. I don't want to drive an effort to keep the sad faces alive. Someone else is already on that one. It's important and I believe in it but that's not what 100 pounds of meat is about. This project is trying to provide some upgrades.

The way I see it, the food pantries are oriented to providing the necessities. Things like pasta, rice and dry beans are essential, inexpensive, and they last a long time on the shelf. I've participated in a food drive or two over the years and I see lots of can goods and dry foods. They keep well, they're easy to manage, they sustain life. These kinds of food are the main stream of "food for the poor" efforts, as they should be.

Meat, on the other hand, isn't quite as necessary. You can get by without it. It costs more and is a bit tougher to manage, but let's face it -- meat is more fun.

At some point during the current economic down turn I had an epiphany (that's a lawyer word for having an "ah ha!" moment) and realized that the lines around "the poor" are getting a bit blurry. The poor used to be this nebulas group of people struggling for survival. The poor were the pathetic images of little children on the TV with skeleton faces and their ribs clearly defined. The poor were living under bridges and wandering around town pushing shopping carts and mumbling to themselves. The poor were standing on the corner waving a paper cup containing some change at you as you looked the other way and hurried by.

There are hundreds, even thousands of charities working to help those people. If you support one (or more) of them, keep it up. You're doing good work.

Michelle and I spent some time in a local food pantry last week and none of those "poor people" showed up. The folks who came by for some help were parents struggling to keep their kids fed but they look more like my neighbors than they look like those images of "the poor".

The truth is, 75% of the people in this country are only a paycheck or two away from serious financial difficulties. All it takes is a corporate downsize, a lay off, and 4 months without finding work and suddenly the person who sat next to you at work is trying to figure out how to keep the lights on and feed the kids.

Those folks need a little help. They don't need help forever. They're working on the problem and they'll get if fixed but for now, they're supplementing the necessities with help from folks like you and me.

The current system is working at full capacity. They are passing out the pasta, rice, beans, and can goods. The system is helping people get by and working the way it's designed to work.

My desire is that the 1000 pounds of meat program will poke a little fun into the bags with the cans of corn and boxes of rice. My vision is a picture of a 8 year old coming in from play, asking what was for dinner, and being shocked when the answer is "Pork Chops" rather than "Beans and Rice". My mind's eye sees little a little family eating faster than usual because there's less pieces of chicken left than little mouths and the last one done might not get seconds.

I like those images much better than dirty little kids sitting in a run down shack with sad eyes. That's why I'm working on meat. The efforts to feed "the poor" is a noble one and I hope you're helping but sometimes you need to step back from the mind numbing sadness. When that happens take a break from the rice and beans and let's throw some hamburgers out there!

Will Shut-Up for Meat!

Here's a new one.

I got invited to a group lunch on Friday. I made an offer that I've never made before (but I expect I will again). I told three participants of the group that if they brought some meat (all three have to bring meat) for us to donate I would not talk unless spoken to (i.e. only talk at the specific direction of one of the three bringing meat).

You have to know me to understand just how much I'm putting out there to make this deal happen.

And Our First Donor Is.....

Drum Roll..........


Betty Fields was our first donor and the charter Marvelous Meat Mob Member.

In Case You're Wondering...

The "Mystery Meat" is weiners...

And I get that beans aren't meat (and they weren't counted) but hey! Who wants weenies without beans.

Do I Dare Step Over The Line?

I pondered this for a while. I want to approach my friends in an effort to try and involve them in my meat project but I know I don't like it when people come to me begging for this or that.

I don't want to alienate anyone but at the same time, most of the people I surround myself with are good people and maybe I wouldn't offend them.

Then it happened.

Someone on facebook had a group called "I don't care about your farm, or your fish, or your park, or your mafia!!!"

...and then it hit me...

I get spammed all the time by folks I love as they ask me to play their on-line games and I don't dis-own them. Maybe turn about is fair play...so I did it.

I decided to write on the walls of 10 people that I was "close enough" to. (It turned out to be more like 15 walls). I posted the following:

I'm trying to get 1000 pounds of meat donated to help feed people. Here's all you need to do - buy some meat, donate it (soup kitchen, homeless shelter, food bank, something like that), write me back and tell me what kind you donated (beef, pork, chicken, aardvark, whatever), and how much it weighed. If you take a picture and send that too it's even better but the donation is what I'm really all about.

We're not just helping the poor. Folks are losing their jobs right and left. I figure that "there, but for the grace of God go I". Do it for me, do it because it's right, do it and talk about me behind my back but PLEASE DO IT.

Thanks in advance!!

(P.S. You can watch the meat progress at (http://1000poundsofmeat.blogspot.com/)

Did I write on yours? Are you going to help?

Who Will Be the First

Since I started the 1000 Pounds of meat project I've donated just over 280 pounds of meat to help feed the folks who are down on their luck. I see in the paper that Fiesta has whole chickens on sale for 55 cents a pound so I'll be stopping by there today to get a bit more.

It's time, though, for me to stop talking about me and start organizing a mighty meat mob to begin donations to food banks all around the country (world?). I've putting some effort into learning how the food banks work and am much more knowledgeable than I was when I started this.

So who will be the first to donate some meat and send me a picture to include in my blog?

I'm going to start contacting folks individually...

Another 182 Pounds

I purchased the next door neighbor kid's FFA project, had it processed, and donated it. That's another 182 pounds (it would have been 208 but I kept some breakfast sausage and bacon).

Now if I can just get some other people to play!!

It's More Than Just Me!

I expect I could achieve the 1,000 pound goal all by myself given enough time. If that were my approach I wouldn't need your help but I do need your help because I want to get past 1,000 (WAY past 1,000) and there is no way I'll get as far by my self as we will get together.

Here's how you help (it's quite simple actually).

1. Get some meat.
2. Donate it to a food bank.
3. Tell me about it.

There it is. That's my crazy plan to help feed the folks who are struggling. I know it is quite daunting and complex but with a bit of study and concentration I think you will come to understand the approach. Here's my suggestions to help you:

1. Get some meat - There are a number of ways to do this. You can go to the local grocery, you could buy an FFA project and have it butchered, you could even raise a cow and donate the meat. Try some of these ideas:

- Shop the sales: Every Tuesday we get flyers from all the grocery stores describing next week's bargins. Look for the really high value meat postings. Last week I found sprial sliced ham for $.79 cents a pound (regularly $3.59). When you see a really good deal the pounce!

- Watch the stratch and dent section: You know the place. Every grocery store has a place where they put meat after they mark the price down. I call it the scratch and dent meat section. I never go into the store without looking the scratch and dent meat over and to tell you the truth, this is where most of our family meals come from. If it's good enough for my family, it's good enough to donate.

2) Donate it to a food bank - When I started all this (right after I purchased the FFA hog) I looked online and found the North Texas Food bank. It was far away and I was not pleased thinking I would have to haul the processed meat nearly 40 miles to donate it. I called them and learned there are donation points all over the metropolotin area. I expect there is a church or non-profit organizaton close to you where you can easily make your donation. Find a food bank (anywhere in the city), call them up and ask them where you should go. The local grocery stores might have some ideas for you too.

3) Tell me about it. - You tell me what you donated and I will tell the world. Send me a story, some pictures, whatever you think you are comfortable sharing and I'll publish it right here. Along with your story or picture send me the retail price of what you got (for example the ham cost me around $80 but it was marked down from 3.59 a pound so I posted $369). If you don't want to write a story or take a picture, no problem! Just tell me what kind of meat, how many pounds and the retail value. That's all I need to move toward my 1,000 pound goal!

Send your meat donation information to 1000PoundsOfMeat@gmail.com.

Count So Far

Earlier this week I donated 104 pounds of spiral sliced ham to a food pantry in Allen. Tomorrow I will pick up a hog I purchased from a local high school student (FFA project) and nearly triple the poundage total.

Now I must ponder how I keep score. What do I track in my quest to get a thousand pounds of meat donated to food banks? My current thought is the total poundage (no brainer there) and the approximate retail value of the meat.

What else should I care about? I would love to hear what you think!!

Welcome

A short time ago I got exposed to a web site called The Penny Experiment which is oriented toward providing food for the poor (if you want more detail follow the link and read the site).

Long story short, I got caught up in part of the concept. The part that called to me was all about feeding folks by donating to local food banks, soup kitchens, and food pantries.

I immediately jumped to action, purchased an FFA project (hog) to donate and started my own quest to donate food. Before I knew it I was unloading over a hundred pounds of spiral sliced hams at the local food donation center (and that doesn't include the pig that I pick up and take to the food bank tomorrow).

If you read the article about the 100 pounds of ham, you would learn that I caught a sale at Krogers and cleaned out the meat case. I spent around $80 and donated over $350 worth of ham.

That started my thinking. Why stop at 100. Why not come up with a thousand pounds of meat for folks that are struggling? Why not ten thousand pounds?

No good answer for why not. The question then turned from "why" to "how" and the 1000 Pounds of meat blog (yes - this one) was born.

Would you like to participte and help me with my quest? The first step is easy (and won't const you any time or money) - just subscribe to (and follow) this blog.