On May 14 over 8,000 students in Humboldt and Del Norte County schools will be taking part in the seventh annual Taco Tuesday. Featuring local grass fed beef, this two-county Farm to School event celebrates local producers and healthy school meals.

Rancher and Humboldt County native Clint Victorine (owner of Eel River Organic Beef and Pacific Pastures Beef) worked with the Humboldt County Office of Education (HCOE) to launch Taco Tuesday in 2013. Erin Derden-Little, Farm to School Coordinator at HCOE states, “Clint’s early involvement with local Farm to School efforts is really tremendous. He wanted to impact every school in the County, and spurred an increase in use of local beef in school meals.”

Victorine is providing 1,400 lbs. of grass fed beef at a greatly reduced price to over 60 Humboldt County schools for this year’s event. Victorine says, “We are so excited to be able to sponsor and promote Taco Tuesday and bring fresh locally raised grass fed beef into the schools. Having grown up in Humboldt County and attended local schools here, I am personally honored to be able to give back and support our youth.”

Thanks to partnerships with additional local businesses, students will also enjoy sour cream generously donated from Humboldt Creamery and “Double Delicious Tropical Salsa” on their grass fed beef tacos. The salsa won the Most Marketable award at HCOE’s 2018 Kids’ Salsa Recipe Competition in Arcata last fall. A team of after school students from Lafayette Elementary School created the recipe alongside mentor chef Josh Wiley from Restaurant Five Eleven. Eureka Natural Foods will be producing over 30 gallons of salsa for the May 14 event.

HCOE and Humboldt County Schools thank Clint Victorine, Humboldt Creamery, Eureka Natural Foods, and Redwood Meat Company for supporting the Seventh Annual Taco Tuesday in Humboldt County!  Thank you also to the many local ranchers who sell through Clint Victorine’s labels, including Bar 7 Livestock, Brightman Ranch, Capetown Ranch, Christiansen Ranch, Cook Ranch, J and J Rice Ranches, Jeral and Laurel Johnson, Grant Pedrotti, SJR Ranches, Soldiers Grove Ranch, Townsend Livestock, and Victorine Livestock.

For more information, please contact Erin Derden-Little, Farm to School Coordinator at (707) 441-2072 or e-mail ederdenlittle@hcoe.org.

Jingle: It’s Raining Tacos!

Listen to the Taco Tuesday radio ad, featuring a jingle created by students from Alice Birney School last year: