My Sheep and Pigs Caused a Revolution

4-H'er Nate Seese saw the need for high-quality protein at a Byron Center food pantry that helps feed at least 250 families, and decided to find a way to help.

January 11, 2012

4-H Revolution of Responsibility

Every month, we will be running at least one story that really captures the idea of the Revolution of Responsibility, 4-H’s new way of thinking about the work we do that not only benefits the kids who participate, but the communities in which these kids live.

For instance, Byron Center probably isn’t the first place you’d think of when talking about not having enough to eat, but the local food pantry is helping feed at least 250 families who would otherwise feel the very real pinch of hunger. 4-H’er Nate Seese saw the need for high-quality protein at the food pantry and decided to find a way to help.

With help from his dad, Nate contacted local businesses to create a buying club that would purchase at auction the sheep and pigs he raised in 4-H. But instead of taking home their own bacon or lamb chops, the business owners let Nate keep his animals so that the meat could be donated. Another local business provided free meat processing, and the food pantry was the happy recipient of 500 pounds of free meat this year (about 1,000 pounds altogether over the last four years)! Nate uses donations and money raised at auction to purchase animals and supplies for the following year, so the program is even self-sustaining.

The video of Nate’s project has been posted on the national 4-H site at http://bit.ly/U8jT82, so check it out to learn more about how one kid is fighting hunger in his community.