Before you make an assumption - the subject topic of ground beef was approved by the state of Tennessee, therefore it could legally and safely be provided to the school students for their lunch meat.
A recent article by Austin Pollack of NewsChannel 5 headlined with “DeKalb County School alums provide ground beef to school lunches” somewhat was misleading. They “provided” – the local school system “bought” following their obtaining a governmental grant.
Yes, C&S Farms of Smithville provided the meat to the DeKalb County School System following an approved grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
“Upon our grant approval, we contacted C & S Farms about providing ground beef to our school lunch program,” said School Director, Patrick Cripps, who graciously continued, “They provided it – and we paid for it through the grant. It was funded entirely by the USDA.”
The two DCHS high school sibling alumni, Clark Adcock and Shara Adcock, are the owners and developers of C & S Farms. Each received an agriculture business degree from the University of Tennessee-Martin. Their college minor was marketing. “Both,” added Shara, “have been very lucrative to this business. And, farming has been a passion of ours.”
From the newsprint of NewsChannel 5, “Obviously, it is a long time coming,” Clark said, “Lots of hard work goes into producing this meat. It’s not just a one-week deal. It’s actually a three-four-year process of breeding and rearing the cattle.”
In a recent brochure, the description remained, “We have farm-raised beef, pork, and lamb. And we are a small business farm.” They offer free delivery within 15 miles with a $60 order. If not within 15 miles, they charge $1 per mile. All animals are grass-fed and grain-finished. All livestock are observed for a lengthy time period – and this includes raised and purchased stock.
Their location is 612 Congress Blvd., Smithville, TN 37166. Phone is: 615-464-7673. Hours of operation are on Tuesdays through Fridays, 10:30 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. and on Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
C&S Farms is an abbreviation for Clark and Shara (Adcock). In the early season, they offer strawberries. For posterity, a sirloin steak sells for $12 per pound.
And so it goes!
