Over The Top

...and me without a picture. I guess I should have been thinking ahead and taken a camera.

Kroger had a promotion this week that they called "Meat Mania". It starts today and lasts a week. One of the items in the flier was Chicken (in 10 pound packages) for 39 cents a pound.

I went to one Kroger and cleaned out the meat case (80 pounds). I also grabbed 4 pounds of Oscar Meyer Salami.

I then drove to the other side of town where there is another Kroger. I found the case but there was only a single 10 pound package so I took a trip to the meat counter.

"Do you have any more 10 pound bags of Chicken?" I asked. "We should have more in the back, how much do you need?"

"How about 15 packages"

"Those are 10 pound packages! Are you sure you want 15 more of them?"

I grinned and shook my head. 16 minutes later I was helping the ACO folks stock 254 pounds of meat on their shelves (the chicken came in 40 pound cases so I got 4 of those plus the bag I already had in my cart). I need to update the totals but I'm pretty sure this puts me over 1000.

Yelling In A Vaccume

I've been doing 1000 pounds of meat for many months but at this point in time I have one (count it one) follower. I get that this is one of those "they keep trying to get into my pockets and make me spend my money" things that are awkward in life, but so is Bike MS and they have thousands of participants.

I need a new plan. I need to up the ante. I need suggestions.

Tell me what you think a body should do to motiviate folks to follow the 1k of meat effort (and maybe even participate)...

Picked Up Another 58 in Wyoming

Spent a week in Wyoming. My mother-in-law donated 25 pounds (15 beef and 10 pork). Then I went to lunch with my sister and my friend (Gwen).

Gwen grabbed the check. Loretta threw down $10 for her part and I put down $10 for mine. Gwen said "your money's no good here!" so I grabbed the cash and said "I'll bet it's good in the Albertson's meat department".

Turned out it was. An hour later we were at the Community Services site with 33 pounds of Chicken (Gwen threw in $10 of her own and we scored a free lunch).

The little state of Wyoming has once again pushed out in front of big-ole-Texas.

Where do I Donate?

It's really quite easy to find a local food pantry now that the Internet is out there. Just do this:

1. Go to google maps (maps.google.com)
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2. Entry the words "Food Pantry" with your zip code (when I tested it I put in "food pantry 75002" and got a fairly comprehensive list of food pantries in my area where I can make donations).
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3. Choose one
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4. Call them up and ask them if they want your meat. Some can't handle fresh (or frozen) meat. Many others can. Find the right one and you are good to go!

A call to Mommy Bloggers

Shortly after Shane (our oldest) was born, Michelle (Shane's mom) stopped working "in the world" and took on the much more important job of creating our contribution to the next generation. Nothing that either of us did before, during, or since has been as important.

The job of creating the next generation is an awesome responsibility which masquerades as the best thing that ever happens to you (and this come from firsthand knowledge).

We love them, we feed them, we patch them up when they get little wear holes or tear holes, and we teach them. Some lessons are taught through lecture others through trial and error. The most significant lessons, it seems, are often taught by example.

My father spent his whole life (the 45 years that I can remember anyway) serving others. He had the brains and college education to go out and chase the big bucks but he chose not to. When he retired did he spent his new found time traveling the world, fishing, or pursuing his dream? Nope -he put his effort into feeding the hungry (and has been called "The Food Angel" in his local community for 15 or 20 years now).

My dad didn't tell me to work at getting 1,000 pounds of meat donated, in fact I don't even know if he is aware I'm doing this. I'm sure if he knows he didn't get it from the Internet because he's about as far from that technology as a body can get. I'm also pretty sure I didn't tell him so perhaps he doesn't know. If I ask myself why I'm doing this a number of answers might pop into my head.

Maybe I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do. Perhaps I'm doing it because if I were one of the folks who needed help I would want someone else to be doing it. Maybe - just maybe I'm doing it because growing up I learned to do it while I was being taught by example.

That brings me to Ashlyn.

I don't know if Nick and Susan were thinking object lesson when they included her as they purchased and donated 75 pounds of meat last week, but I expect they planted a seed. The day will come when Aslyn is no longer small enough that the shopping cart is high enough to make adding items a challenge and when that day comes...those seeds will be growing.

So while this article offers hats off to Nick and Susan, it is also a call to all those mommy bloggers out there. It's the spring of your children's lives and it is time to be planting some seeds

Find a place to leave your donations (see my article on this called "Where do I donate") and then take your little ones to the store to help you pick out the meat, and have them help you carry it in to the donation site.
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While you are making your donations be sure to take some pictures and send me an email @ 1000poundsOfMeat@gmail.com (with the pictures) telling me how much meat, what kind (beef, chicken, etc), and where you live. I'll publish a post about your adventure and then you can read the story of how they helped to your little ones.
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Besides teaching your children by example, you'll be doing your community a favor, you'll be having fun with your kids, and you'll build lasting memories.
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...and don't forget to pass it on! We want all your friends to join in ...

Wyoming! You're 7 Pounds Behind!!

Tesas has the most meat donations with a narrow 7 pound lead over Wyoming!

We Broke 700!

Michelle (my favorite female) and I went to Fiesta and got another 30 pounds and Mandy (my favorite female) donated five and a half pounds of chicken. Those two additions, along with 17 pounds of beef and 4 pounds of Mystery meat from Vickie (my favorite female) put us over the 700 pound mark!

Vickie Pearl - The Meat Donor

Thanks Vickie, Mandy and Michelle!!