The Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association was honoured and humbled by the invitation to assist in the tornado relief efforts in Goderich. The “There’s No Taste Like Home,” mobile kitchen unit was dispatched to the area on Aug. 25.
We fed approximately 500 people during lunch and we also cooked beef for supper that night. Whatever was left over was used to make cold beef sandwiches. Enough beef was prepared to feed 2,000 people.
In addition to the big kitchen unit, we also brought our large beef smoker to be ready for the demand. The Zehrs store in Goderich also a played a key role in the meal, partnering with Loblaw Companies to provide all of the buns, potato salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw and all of the fixings that go onto the buns.
We had a tremendous feedback from all we spoke with, and they were happy to have something different for their meal.
For Ontario Corn Fed Beef, it was a great feeling to give back to the community and to the consumers who buy our agricultural products, day in and day out – especially when they were in a time of need.
It was also a day of mixed feelings. While we were able to close the doors and leave the town to return to the safety of our own homes, our thoughts remained with the people who were left in a storm disaster zone.
Everything, including hydro and services were improving, but it really gives you a reality check as far as how easy it is for Mother Nature to turn your life upside down in just a blink of an eye.
Joining us on the trip were OCFA president Dale Pallister (and his grandson, Cole) and directors Murray Legge, Ron Bennett and Doug Kaufman, OCFB Quality Assurance Manager Dave Murray and Joe Winstone, a chef student from Fanshawe College who has been working with us this summer. We were also helped by Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Carol Mitchell, whose home riding includes the town of Goderich.
See more pictures in the photo gallery.