ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The All American Beef Battalion arrived at the 139th Airlift Wing to provide a steak lunch for the members to show their appreciation for the wing and the U.S. military on Sept. 11, 2021, the same day the unit held its 9/11 commemorative ceremony.
In 2008, Bill Broday, a Vietnam veteran and recipient of two purple hearts, wanted to give back to service members returning from deployment, current active members and wounded warriors. Being a cattleman from Kansas, Bill decided the best way for him to do this was to provide steak meals at no charge.
Since the company’s inception, they have provided meals to over 420,000 service members in 28 states. Over the years, the company has gained countless volunteers and has expanded its cooking capacity to accommodate this growing endeavor by using custom-built convection oven trailers.
“This is our way of saying thank you, it is our mission and goal”, said Jon Fort, senior vice chairman of the All American Beef Battalion. “We are all volunteers, and operate strictly off of donations, so we can continue to provide these meals at no charge”.
At this event, the Future Farmers of America organization volunteered to assist with the prepping and serving of the meals. The local St.
Joseph chapter had 10 student volunteers and two advisors as well as the Southwest Missouri chapter which had five student volunteers.
“This is a great way to serve and honor the troops”, said Jessica Keefer, advisor for the St. Joseph FFA chapter. “Teaching our students to give back, as well as understanding the sacrifices service members make”.