Beef Sticks “BeefFit-ing” School Children

Area ranch woman launches business to help backpack food programs

It was while visiting with a friend who was packing snacks for her kids that Jenny Stovall first began thinking about all the area school children who don’t have access to healthy snacks.

“What do they eat when they’re hungry?” she asked herself. “Where are they getting their nourishment?”

That question would bother her until she began to think about solutions. With the cost of groceries skyrocketing and many families resorting to cheap, unhealthy snacks, Jenny knew she could provide something better.

Her life experience — growing up in eastern Montana, operating a cattle ranch and a feedlot with her husband, Turk, and raising her own children — prepared her for what she believes is something that God laid on her heart.

With her agricultural background, her experience working with ConAgra Foods and her dual degrees in marketing and animal science, Jenny’s solution was to develop a protein-packed flavorful beef stick.

“God provided me with an opportunity to make a difference,” she says. “I knew I could develop a sustainable, flavorful, healthy snack for children that isn’t filled with sugar and starch.”

Jenny reached out to Kelly McCandless, the executive director of the Education Foundation for Billings Public Schools, who introduced her to BackPack Meals, a program that provides meals to food-insecure elementary students, and the Teen Pantry Program, which serves middle- and high-school students.

BackPack Meals provides four meals and two snacks for more than 500 elementary school children in Billings, every Friday afternoon, to eat over the weekend. The Teen Pantry Program offers basic meal items to another 500 students. BeefFit sticks are given to both.

“There’s no reason why we can’t provide for our kids,” Jenny says passionately. “There are hungry children in every school in Billings and every school beyond. We have to do better!”

The Stovalls started donating beef for processing, zeroing in on cattle that don’t make the expected weight and won’t grade out choice — which are perfect for beef sticks because the meat is lean — and Stillwater Packing in Columbus came up with a recipe for the beef sticks. Soon, Jenny’s idea was being made and packaged.

With the inspiration from her good friends, Kerry and Yurii Hanson, who own CrossFit, she came up with the idea of BeefFit. The play on words and the logo, which is an image of an animated bull posing as a CrossFit athlete, symbolize the healthiness of her snack.

“It’s playful and eye-catching,” Jenny says. “We love it!”

In the corner of the family room at the Stovall home south of Billings, dozens of boxes of beef sticks sit ready to be distributed.

“The beauty is they don’t need to be refrigerated,” Jenny says. “We don’t have to worry if it sits in a backpack for a few days.”

Since launching in December 2023, BeefFit has continually provided 1,000 sticks a month for Billings SD2 students. Jenny’s goal is 3,000 a week. When that’s met, she’d like to reach out to schools beyond Billings.

“I know we can provide more,” she says. “I just need more help.”

Between the cattle donated by Stovall Ranches, connections with several other feedlot, and donations from other ranchers, the cattle are being provided. Currently BeefFit has a standing order with Stillwater Packers to process four to five animals every month, and they are prepared to accommodate larger orders. The big concentration right now is getting assistance with the processing fees.

“That’s the biggest cost I have,” she explains.

Jenny sells the sticks to SD2 at her cost, using the retail side of her business to help defer costs. For every four sticks she sells retail, she donates one to the school district.

“I’d love to pick up more quantity orders from companies, or sponsorships,” she says. “It would be amazing to use the sources in our valley to feed the children in our valley.”

Each stick is individually shrink-wrapped and offers 8 grams of protein in a one-ounce size. They retail for $1.15.

“The difference between our sticks and others is that we use the entire beef carcass. Most beef sticks are made from the trim, so our quality and flavor are much better,” Jenny adds.

Offering her sticks to the school programs at cost, along with selling them retail, has her program breaking even. To get more beef sticks in the hands of more children, she hopes to attract more bulk retail sales or donations.

“I’m just a Montana girl feeding Montana kids the best Montana product we have,” Jenny says. “And I’d like more kids to have that.”