816-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 12,1990 Love 1$ Spelled B-E-E-F East Berlin volunteers Fred Nell, left, and Jim Boyer know exactly what needs done on the cutting and canning lines after many years of helping to coordinate the relief effort. JOYCE BUPP York Co. Correspondent YORK (York Co.) The ingredient labels on the shiny cans neatly stacked in cardboard cases say “Beef Chunks.” But the contents of the more than 20,000 cans stacked in the processing plant at Meadowbrook Turkey Farms are more than simple chunks of cooked beef and broth. These cartons of cans are obviously packed full of Christian love. Beyond the warehouse area, voices raised in animated talk and shared laughter rise above the steady clatter of sharp knives against cutting tables. Volunteers working sinks of hot, sudsy water wash the stickiness from finished cans, while others neatly fasten labels around the two-pound tins. And the loud hissing of steam marks yet another batch of 140 cans being processed for the sto machs of hungry children some where across the ocean. The late-April effort marked the h Pennsylvania Rabbit Conference The annual Pennsylvania Rab bit Conference has been slated for Saturday, June 9, 1990 at Mont gomery County 4-H Center in Creamery, Pennsylvania. Last year it was held in Cambria County. The event, sponsored by Penn State University, the Mont gomery County Cooperative Extension, and the Pennsylvania Rabbit Breeders Association, is open to all rabbit owners and fea tures sessions for both the exper ienced and beginner producers. The featured speaker for the experienced producers will be Dr. Terry Reed of Markle, Indiana, who is a noted producer, author. 12th consecutive year that volun teers from the Southern Pennsyl vania and Mid-Atlantic districts of the Church of the Brethren gathered at Skip Fitz’s Meadow brook facility to can the nutritious beef and broth for hunger relief. More than 600 volunteers, from as far away as Midland, Virginia, Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, and Maryland’s Eastern Shore donated their labor for the three daily shifts of deboning, chunking and packing the raw beef. Godfrey Brothers, Loganville, slaughtered the 113 head of cattle donated and purchased for the relief effort. Central to the program is the mobile steam cannery owned by the Mennonite Central Committee headquartered at Akron in Lancas ter County. The Brethren group rents, per number of finished cans, the traveling processing plant. With it come three paid operators who oversee the five steam pressure canners which process the beef for a minimum of two hours at 240-degrees. HAPPENINGS and former president of the American Rabbit Breeders Asso ciation. He will cover “Nutrition What and Why” as well as “Conditioning for Show” during the morning session. In the after noon he will do a workshop on “Diseases of Rabbits.” Also during the morning ses sion, Diane Geitzenauer of Long Valley, New Jersey, will address the youth or beginner attendees with “General Care and Handling” and “Selecting the Right Rabbit for You.” Geitzenauer is a 4-H leader, A.R.B.A. registrar, state representative to A.R.B.A. and a Mini-Lop breeder. In the afternoon, participants have a choice of attending any two “This is a mission project, a concern for our fellow men,” explains York butcher Roger Mill er, chairman of the beef canning program. “We know we’re help ing fill hungry stomachs.” Final destination of the beef is as far away as Africa and as close as soup kitchens in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Victims of natural disasters like Hurricane Hugo and flooding in Johnstown are fed as well with the yellow labeled tins bearing a dove logo. A large portion of the beef goes to an orphanage in Port Au Prince, Hai ti, where up to one thousand chil dren are fed daily. “We don’t know what poverty is,” says Miller, who has personal ly visited the Haiti orphanage. “You come back a different per son. Luke Neree’, who operates the orphanage, has attended some of our area meetings. We know where this effort goes and what it does.” A sample can from each batch goes to Hanover Foods, which donates the service of holding the of the six following workshops: “Angora Wool,” “Update on Rab bit Equipment,” “Basic Veterinary Skills for Rabbit Owners,” “Gene tics,” ‘Tanning,” and “Diseases.” Also planned are educational dis plays and a mini-trade show which will be open during the day. Conference registration starts at 8:30 a.m. with the welcoming address slated for 9:15 a.m. The workshops conclude at 4:15 p.m. The registration fee for adults is $lO per person, $S for youth (ages 8-19), or $l5 per family. Registra tions are due by May 29. To obtain information and registra tion materials for the conference, contact Nancy Kadwill, county agent, 1015 Route 113, Box 20, Creamery, Pa. 19430, (215) 489-4315. Franklin Co. 4-H Franklin County will be holding their Bth annual Spring Preview Show on Saturday. June 2, at 10 a.m. at the Shippensburg Fair grounds in Shippensburg, PA. FOOD lor RELIEF BEEF CHUNKS . _ WITH NATUHAI. JUICES SALT ADDED At ruunt of Qiriil ' MMNOMn CMIAI COMMirm Donated by the Church of the Brethren akmn HuwmvANi*, uu inat W WMOWMOOI IMMS U iai >ai«a Dt—. Ml MitMkmDMm n-‘ * ir«7 /M ) V*«n*y Laverne Eby, of Saskatchewan, Canada, Is one of the three full-time employees who travel with and operate the Mennonlte Central Committee’s mobile cannery. This mobile cannery owned by the Mennonlte Central Committee, Akron, travels from place to place wherever vol unteers offer to can meat for the needy. samples at a 90-degree incubation level for a quality test period of 10 days. The quality test assures that the beef and broth meet the strict safety standards for canned meats. Jim Boyer of East Berlin took five days off from his job and his farm to help coordinate the volunteers. “We never know for sure just how many will show up. But it Entry deadline is May 24. For more information or entry forms, call Leon Lebo, (717) 597-2176 or 597-2618. Alexandria Outlook Ag. 4-H Club Dr. Frank E. Skacel Jr. of Ridgeview Veterinary Clinic, in R.D.#l Derry, Pa., was the guest speaker at the New Alexandria Outback Ag. Club’s monthly meeting. Skacel showed the members how to take the best care of their project animals. Most members will be selecting their animals for show soon and should keep his guidelines in mind: Buy from a reputable source; observe the con ditions that the animals are kept in; and make sure the animals are healthy, alert, and in good physi cal condition. He also explained how to bring a project animal home and intro duce it to its new environment In addition, he explained how to tell always works out. The volunteers have been wonderful,” says Boy er, a veteran of the disaster assis tance following flooding in Mis sissippi. “We think we don’t have time, but if a disaster happened to us, we’d have to make time. I can’t get away too often to help with disaster efforts somewhere else, but this project is something I can do right here.” when your animal is sick, and what to do when it is sick. “Even though the runt of the lit ter looks so cute and special, it’s much better to pick a bigger and stronger animal,” he said. Spring Valley Open Show The Spring Valley Benefit Open Horse Show sponsored by the York County 4-H Horse and Pony Clubs was held Saturday, April 28 at Spring Valley Park located near Glen Rock. Spring Valley Park is one of York County’s largest parks, with 800 acres of woodland, open fields, and streams. Spring Valley has an existing horse show ring with a fund-raising drive under way for the addition of a second horse show ring and secretary stand. York County 4-H Horse Clubs will be donating all proceeds from the show to the Spring Valley Ani mal Exhibition Area. The show (Turn to Pago Bit)