Nebraska Beef to Hot Lunch Program is a reality at Hay Springs Public School.  The students, staff, administration and the Board of Education are extremely excited about the fact that we will be serving locally grown beef in our school lunch program.  This program is a great way to support the health and nutrition of the student attending Hay Springs School.  Today, we had a “Beef to Table Kick-off” event prior to our first home football and volleyball games to be held on Friday, September 7th.  Parents and patrons were invited to join us for the noon meal.

We are so grateful to those individuals on the Board of Education and local beef producers that have been instrumental in researching and developing this very important program.  Their dedication towards getting locally produced beef on the table for our students is greatly appreciated.  A huge thanks go to those who have contributed to the success of our initial stage of this program.  Those include Sheridan Livestock Market and Judd Hoos for donating the first two beef animals, Security First Bank for paying for the processing, BNSF Railroad and Russ and Sue Lechtenberg for donating freezers, Greg Heiting and Brian Forney for transporting the animals to slaughter and processed beef back to the school, and to Sandhill’s State Bank for their monetary donation.  KDK Meats at Bridgeport, Nebraska, a USDA inspected packing plant is where the beef was process and KDK donated the cost of the inspection and testing for the animals and processing.

Local beef producers are stepping up in a big way to provide nutritious beef to our students.  We currently have two additional animals donated for processing later in the year but will need additional animals as we continue this program.  If you are interested in supporting this program in any manner, please contact the Hay Springs School administrative office or any of our Board of Education members.