The national nonprofit Good Meat Project’s primary focus is connecting people with meat products raised and produced in a manner in line with their values, but another key goal for the group is developing a new generation of skilled workers who can meet the job-skills needs of smaller meat processors.

Good Meat Project Executive Director Michele Thorne shares some insights on the challenges and opportunities of educating and training workers for fulfilling careers in meat processing.

For the processors and butchers that the Good Meat Project works with, what are the leading concerns they express regarding finding and retaining skilled employees?

Michele Thorne: The leading concerns that butchers and processors express regarding finding and retaining skilled employees are lack of interest in the trade itself from young people and lack of high quality training. Some also express the ability to compete with higher wage, lower physical demand jobs is also a concern. We also know that being an expert in your craft isn’t the same as being a teacher of your craft, and butchers and processors have expressed a need for additional training to effectively recruit, onboard, and mentor new staff.

Since our founding in 2014, the GMP has developed experiential meat education programs for everyone along the supply chain, in regions all over the United States. Through this work with butchers, chefs, farmers, ranchers, and even consumers, it’s become clear that many regional food systems lack extensive, in-depth, in-person training and apprenticeship opportunities for aspiring butchers who share our Good Meat values. This causes a cascade effect, because we know that butcher shop owners and meat processing facility managers face a lack of skilled labor, which makes it difficult to adequately staff their businesses and facilities. Consequently, the farmers and ranchers who rely on their services in order to get their meat to market are unable to meet increased demand from consumers. Which means consumers, in turn, see higher prices and fewer options for sourcing meat that matches their values.

What are some approaches for attracting a new generation to consider careers in butchery and meat processing?

Michele Thorne: According to a series of interviews we conducted in 2021 with people around the country who tried to break into the industry but were not successful, we found that individuals who are interested in receiving training often have trouble finding a well-paid, dedicated opportunity to do so. Many end up working for free in exchange for more informal butchery education that lacks a thoughtful curriculum or a clear, reliable schedule.

Good Meat Project has extensive experience developing meat education for diverse constituents and bringing diverse stakeholders together. That experience, combined with our broad network of skilled Good Meat practitioners and other Good Meat businesses, puts us in a unique position to experiment and innovate in the context of a regional, decentralized, collaborative butchery training program that could feed into the existing handful of longer-term journeyman apprenticeship programs that do still exist in the United States. Many of our collaborating organizational and university extension partners are working together to incentivize this new generation of future butchers and meat processors. We are also sharing materials that we created directly with processors and butchers.

What are some resources that smaller processors can tap into to find skilled workers or further develop skills of their current staff members?

Michele Thorne: One of our core programs is called BACON (Butcher and Chefs Opportunity Network), where we connect butchers and processors with the resources they need to help educate young people and prospects seeking to switch careers about what it takes to be a butcher or processor. In 2023, with the help of a grant from the Roundhouse Foundation, we created the New Butchers Training Handbook and Core Curriculum materials, which serve as a customizable introductory training curriculum for on-the-job-training that one helps butchers and processors mentor and successfully teach and prepare the next generation of butchers to effectively process and sell Good Meat products, and two provides a thoughtful, intentional training structure that will ensure diverse new and aspiring butchers get the dedicated training and support they need to successfully develop a solid foundation of confidence and skill in whole animal butchery and utilization. If any processors are interested in receiving these training materials for free, they can email programs@goodmeatproject.org.

We also share butchery learning opportunities on our website. We update these opportunities regularly and we share them with our national network of stakeholders. In addition to those resources, we also have a platform called the Good Meat Switchboard, which allows members to engage directly with one another, to ask for help or share a resource with the community. The platform is free and anyone can share an opportunity there by signing up at https://goodmeatproject.switchboardhq.com.

We also know that butchers and processors have a messaging problem--their craft is under-valued. We want to generate excitement about these professions and are doing so through a couple exciting initiatives. Every April, we launch the Real Burger of Earth Day celebrating the benefits of grassfed meats. This is a great opportunity for butchers to highlight their work sourcing from local farms, and the delicious ground meats in their butcher case. Each fall, we honor the craft of butchery and processing in our quarterly Good Meat Journal with an entire issue dedicated to “The Season of the Butcher.” The journal profiles butchers across the country, offers opportunities for butchers and prospective butchers, and offers a behind the scenes look at the incredible craft of butchery.

What types of grant opportunities for employee training are available for small- to mid-size processors?

Michele Thorne: As a collaborative partner with the Northwest Rocky Mountain Food Business Center, the business center is offering scholarships up to $1,000 per applicant to cover eligible costs for travel, course fees, and other expenses related to butcher and processing apprenticeship programs or education. See website here: https://nwrockymountainregionalfoodbusiness.com/meat-scholarships/

These scholarships are available to anyone in any of these states (WA, OR, ID, WY, CO, MT) with a relevant training need. Scholarships can be applied to various meat-related courses, both in-person and online, and can include travel costs and any other indirect costs. Participants should determine the total cost of their program and indicate what percentage the scholarship would cover. Some costs may be offered at a reduced rate as a de facto scholarship from certain training providers, and we’ll let applicants know where those options exist. This offering is ongoing, and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

This scholarship program is a great way to lower the cost of high-quality training, connect with top providers in the field, and build skills in the meat industry. We encourage all interested parties to apply and join us in strengthening our region’s meat supply chain.