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SALT LAKE CITY — Any dad knows, if you want to get your boys to work hard, make it a competition.
When Farmington resident Jon Ball took his family to the Utah Food Bank Saturday to help unpack a huge donation of frozen meat, he knew his two boys would love to race against their mom — and they had the job done in no time.
Some of the meat donated by the Utah State University Extension 4-H Club belonged to animals the Ball family raised.
"They work hard to raise their animals, and now they get to see the fruits of all their hard work," Ball said.
This donation day has been an annual event over the past decade.
"Today is one of the best days at the Utah Food Bank, and we so look forward to it every year," said Ginette Bott, chief development officer at the food bank.
This year's event was extra special: It marked 1 million pounds of meat donated to the food bank since the USU program began 10 years ago.
Bluffdale resident Larisa Nageli's and her children, including her 2-year-old daughter, were also at the food bank packing boxes Saturday. She feels doing this type of work — good, old-fashioned country labor — makes children into better people.
"They learn the responsibility, the organization, the time management," Nageli said. "They're productive members of society, and isn't that what we want for our children?"
Even with all the meat donated Saturday, it was hard not to notice all the empty shelves. Currently, donations at the food bank are down nearly 50 percent.
"What we need to be able to do is continue with awareness, education and say 50 percent lower is not acceptable," Bott said. "We need your help. And the holidays are coming, and I hope people will gear up for that."
The meat from USU certainly helps, especially when you make it a game where children realize they can help others win.
"They're learning valuable lessons and having fun too," Ball said.
For information on how you can donate to the Utah Food Bank, visit www.utahfoodbank.org.
