Renaissance man Tom Jackson thought he’d feed two birds with one stone.
The Canadian singer and songwriter is a moving force behind the Beef Relief campaign, which is designed to help beef producers and fill the freezers of rural food banks.
Jackson, who starred in the TV series North of 60, believes the situation has become desperate since the bovine spongiform encephalopathy crisis began to affect rural economies. To help out, he bought 500 sides of beef from Cargill Foods for $167,000.
Consumers and donors can buy the beef from Jackson and donate it to the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank, where it will be distributed to food banks across Western Canada.
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If donors choose to keep their side of beef, Sunterra Market will process it for them at no charge.
Beef Relief organizers hope all the beef is purchased by the end of October, but if not, all 500 sides will be given to the food bank anyway.
Extra donated
Once Jackson recoups the money he spent, additional revenues will also be given to western Canadian food banks.
By mid-October, 210 sides had been spoken for. Only five buyers had elected to keep their beef.
Beef Relief co-ordinator Michele McDonald said Jackson has always been a supporter of Canadian food banks.
“The food bank is one of Tom’s great love and passions and he spends a lot of time on it,” she said.
The Calgary food bank is a distribution hub for food banks across Western Canada.
Russ MacKay, a partner in McLean & Partners Wealth Man-agement Ltd. of Calgary, said his firm wanted to take a leading role in the Beef Relief campaign. It donated $5,000 and five sides of beef to the effort.
