Gibson's Custom Meats helping families in need

A local butcher shop is working with community members to provide essential quality meat to families in need ahead of winter.

So far, it’s been a huge success. Already, more than 500 people have donated and over 350 families or individuals have benefitted from the program, getting quality meat to cook at home while pinching pennies.  

At Gibson’s Custom Meats, located at 7912 Martin Way E in Olympia, lead butcher Chris Calloway said people losing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits spurred the idea.

But the holidays are also coming up and rising meat prices are making it more difficult for many families to afford essential protein items like ground beef, chicken and pork sausage. Those are the items included in the community-funded boxes being given away to people in need, which customers can purchase through a “pay it forward” program.  

 The program began at the beginning of November and received 75 donations in the first three days. Donations are put in a bank, and then people who want to use the pay-it-forward program can come and ask about it. Gibson’s employees prepackage the products and put them together in coolers so they’re ready to go.  

 “It's been wild,” Calloway said. “I get here (at) five in the morning every day, try to stock up these packs and keep them going, because we've been blown out of them. You know, by two or three o'clock we're running out.” 

 He said he wrote on Gibson's Facebook page asking people using the program to be patient because this is a new thing for them, but it’s off to a great start.  

 “But if this goes great, we’ll continue to go,” he said.  

 Some customers purchase one for others, some purchase 10, said Calloway. Gibson’s Custom Meats has been around for about a decade, and Calloway said it’s important the community knows it’s there for them. The store sources a lot of its meat from Eastern Washington, he said.  

 “We try and source everything from the Pacific Northwest as much as we can because that's what a lot of people like. They want as local as possible,” Calloway said.  

 Calloway said he hopes the program can continue even after the holidays, and is thankful to community members who have donated to help feed others through economically difficult times.