People met in a parking lot this afternoon to pick up their birds.

A volunteer-led effort has helped a new Oklahoma chicken processor get a good start by selling 1,300 processed chickens in four days.  The processing plant’s success is key to regional, small-scale food security since it 1) is in Oklahoma and 2) is a small processor looking to help small, sustainable farmers and 3) is filling a food-supply gap.

From the Oklahoma Gazette:

For years, many struggled to figure out how to build a profitable facility that would cater to independent chicken farmers, so they were surprised in July to learn about Raymond Jones, a Tahlequah man in the final stages of completing a facility.

Jones is the founder and CEO of the DARP Foundation, a non-profit drug and alcohol rehabilitation program for offenders who are sent to him through the courts, in lieu of going to prison.

To combat the recession, Jones decided to build a chicken processing plant for independent farmers, staffed entirely by his DARP participants. After USDA inspections, the facility was set to open Sept. 21 and can process 5,000 birds per day. All of the profits support the foundation.

“I wanted to do something that there’s a need for,” Jones said. “We’re not trying to become a Tyson or a Simmons, but we can produce something that is good for the community at much less price than other people can.”

There will be another round of chicken deliveries next week. If you are interested in placing an order, refer to the contact information in my previous post.

Let me break my blogging dry-spell by sharing this great deal!

This information comes from an email I received earlier today:

A new small-scale chicken processor just got their USDA certification and are busy processing birds.

This processor also raises birds a few miles from the processing location north of Tahlequah. These birds are housed at a much lower density than current industrialized standards. They are free to range during the daylight hours and are fed a completely vegetarian ration with no hormones or antibiotics added. I’ve seen these birds, and they seem healthy, calm, and stress-free. The resulting dressed product weighs about 7-9 lbs and *tastes wonderful*. This processor is committed to providing processing services to sustainable Oklahoma farmers and to providing affordable products to rural residents of our state. However, they face a short-term cash flow crunch and are very much in need of our help. How? By buying chicken! These birds are being offered at $5 for a 7-9 lb roaster. We are in the process of setting up one-time deliveries to Oklahoma City and Tulsa for next week. The Tulsa delivery will be Wednesday, OKC is still TBD. If you want to support local food, farming and processing, check your freezer space and come buy some birds. Buy some for your family and neighbors. Buy some and donate them to your local food bank!

Please send an e-mail to osborn.nancy@gmail.com with your name, phone number, location, and number of birds you’d like to buy. If we can buy about 4,000 birds in the next week, they can get through this crunch. If you have restaurant or institutional contacts who might like a large lot of roasters, please talk to them and send them our way. You have an opportunity to make a real, long-term difference in the face of local food next week–just by buying some chicken!

I just placed my order. Let’s help this entrepreneur get a good start!