Jonesboro, AR – Contributed – Work is complete on upgrades to the meat lab at Arkansas State University thanks to a $750,000 grant from the state Office of Skills Development (OSD).  

A dedication ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at Judd Hill Farmers’ Market, followed by a tour of the meat lab in room 131 of the College of Agriculture.  

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“We will have key speakers regarding the Arkansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry (AHFH) snack stick program and their partnership with A-State,” said Corey Readnour, meat lab director. 

A-State has partnered with AHFH for the past three years to produce snack sticks for weekend backpack programs across Arkansas.  

AHFH provides snack sticks to 70 schools in 48 counties. A-State’s meat lab produces snack sticks, while simultaneously providing training to students in the College of Agriculture on using the equipment. This allows students to learn more about meat processing and packaging.  

Funds from OSD purchased new equipment, installed a new roof on the facility, and updated the refrigeration to streamline the snack stick production process. Readnour said new equipment purchased includes a roll stock vacuum packaging machine, snack stick cutting machine, vacuum stuffer, meat grinder, and meat mixer.  

“These upgrades were to implement a high-speed snack stick line and train students on updated, state-of-the-art equipment that you would find in a commercial operation,” Readnour added.  

Since the fall of 2023, A-State’s meat lab has produced snack sticks for AHFH. In that time, Readnour said they have learned ways to be more successful. 

“We have been working on fine tuning the process and product development, while waiting for the new equipment to be installed,” he said. “Now we are ready to launch large-scale production.”

He said this equipment allows A-State to streamline the process and benefit more children in the state.

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