CALF_News_April_May_2020

18 CALF News • April | May 2020 • www.calfnews.net I t all started with a servant’s heart and an idea. The desire to help others using my knowledge of agriculture led to the creation of Center of the Plate, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing meat protein to help feed food-insecure families in my community of Dripping Springs, Texas. To date, we have been able to provide meat protein for more than 50,000 meals. My work with Center of the Plate has focused my career goals and made me realize I want to bridge the educational gap between farmers and consumers by communicating the necessity of technol- ogy application in food production for improvements in production efficiency, resource sustainability and food safety. Most people are so far removed from agriculture and food production that they no longer understand the chal- lenges farmers and ranchers face. I believe explaining the necessity of new technol- ogy advances to consumers and gaining their understanding is the key to decreas- ing food insecurity on a global level. I’m an agriculture advocate who grew up on a small cow-calf operation in east- central Kansas. There I saw the miracle of life, and also learned the need for respon- sibility, time-management, and putting the needs of others above my own. I also learned how critical it is to raise a healthy animal to one day enter the food chain. My family moved to Texas in 2013, but I was able to stay connected to the agriculture community by join- ing 4-H and FFA. Center of the Plate, FFA and 4-H have provided me with countless leadership opportunities. I have embraced leadership roles in each organization and have realized that I can inspire others toward a common goal. Center of the Plate came about because my family saw a need in our community. While Dripping Springs has other food assistance programs, none of these programs provides consistent access to meat protein. Meat protein provides us with the amino acids that our body can’t produce on its own and meat is the most efficient way to gain these amino acids. Center of the Plate has become a sustainable program based on the continued engagement of my 4-H and FFA peers along with strong com- munity support. Initially, I approached my 4-H club and FFA chapter to ask for donations of market steers and hogs for Center of the Plate. Funding was essential for purchas- ing freezers and paying for meat-process- ing costs; therefore, I worked to convince 11 local businesses to be program sponsors and secured funding from three community grant programs. Our local appliance store has donated six freezers and allowed us to purchase another at cost. My church built a dedicated mis- sion space to house the 13 freezers and covers the freezer electrical costs. The goal of Center of the Plate is to have a lasting impact on families in our community.We improved our breadth of influence by collaborating with others on COVER STORY Trends A Girl with a Mission Feeding the World Starts Here and Now By Faith Baxter Contributing Editor ABOVE: Dripping Springs High School students from left, Annette Ashby, Faith Baxter and Caroline Olson just finished filling a freezer with donated beef. BELOW: Dripping Springs students promote Center of the Plate efforts to the community by participating at the local Founder's Day Parade. Continued on page 19 