Last Thursday, FFA members teamed up with Bear River Guide Dog Programs Club in a Drive Through BBQ deemed successful by members despite an unfortunate shortage of pork loins. 

Towards the end of the Drive Through BBQ pick up time, members noticed an abundance of sides, yet had been informed that the last batch of pork loins had been delivered from the BBQ to the assembly line in charge of packing the complete meals. After recounting remaining sides, members and advisors came to the conclusion that a package of meat had not been picked up from the store. They reluctantly informed customers of the pork shortage, promising a choice of reimbursement or free meal at the Spring BBQ. 

FFA Advisor Holly Hockett explained the success that the dynamic duo had.

“We were able to sell a lot of tickets and raise money for both the FFA and Guide Dog programs.”

FFA President and Senior Connor McGehee viewed saw the barbeque as a “glass half full.”

“I do believe that the BBQ went well, the only hiccup really was that we ended up short on our pork loins somehow, which was unfortunate. Our customers were extremely gracious though , and were glad to accept refunds or rain checks for a free meal at our spring Drive Through BBQ.” 

Drive Through Committee Chair Alyssa Downes, a senior, sympathized with the unlucky customers who likely got off work and were counting on the meal for an easy dinner.

“We ended up not having enough meat for a good amount of people. The members and I felt really bad, because these families coming at the end hadn’t prepared food for tonight and they got left with a vegetarian meal.”

Safety precautions, such as limiting the number of people allowed in the building did present a challenge, but creativity and flexibility aided their endeavors. 

“This year we were lucky enough to be able to use the Lions Club Building to set up and prepare and pre-package all the things we could the day before so we had less stress about the day of, and that honestly helped a lot.” said McGehee. 

Reflecting on the day of, Hockett expresses her view.

“I believe most of our food prep and pickup went smoothly, and we’ve gotten the feedback from customers that the food was well prepared.”

COVID-19 and meat seemed to be the only challenges the group ran into and despite the meat shortage, participants still deemed the fundraiser as a success.  

Guide Dog President Allison Johnson said, “I think the BBQ was a success because everyone was happy with their meals.” 

Downes echoed the success train of thought in relation to member participation saying, “Everyone was on time and working well with those around them.”

From a teacher and advisor’s perspective, Hockett firmly agreed with her students. 

 “We had our own challenges and made plenty of mistakes, but we were able to raise money for students and we learned a lot for the next time,” Hockett said. 

McGehee expressed his gratitude and apologized to the customers.

“I want to thank everyone who bought a meal and say I hope they enjoyed it! I also want to sincerely apologize to our customers that weren’t able to get the meat in their meals, and I hope they give us the chance to make up for it in the spring!”