"This is one of the best parts of doing a lamb," said Crystal Snow, 13, who lives in Farmington. "It's fun knowing you're helping people."

The 103,000 pounds of meat, donated through the 4-H program, comes at a critical time for Utah. The number of households on food stamps has hit an all-time high. This year, more than 58,000 households bought groceries with their government-provided food stamps through August, compared with just over 52,000 the year before.

The shelves at the Utah Food Bank, where the meat sorting took place this weekend, are the emptiest Executive Director Jim Pugh has ever seen.

"There's just more and more families that are living paycheck to paycheck," he said.

The Utah Food Bank in Salt Lake City acts as warehouse and distribution center for hundreds of local pantries statewide. Donations come from businesses, food drives and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, among others. The meat donation project, now in its fourth year, helps provide high-protein food options, which aren't always available.

Questar, Salt Lake County and other businesses donate money to buy 4-H animals and pay for processing. Hundreds of 4-H kids participate in the program.

Taking a break from sorting meat Saturday, many of the children said they had not realized how many families were hungry in Utah.

"One in eight kids live in poverty? " said Cooper Hanson, 15, citing statistics he had learned that morning. "That's insane. I never really thought about that."

Through participating in the program, the children generally received less money than they could have at auction. Knowing that slaughtering their animal is for a good cause helps them let go of an animal that may have become like a friend, said Kelly Maxfield, a 4-H leader and Questar vice president.

"They understand it's going to feed someone who's hungry," he said.

jlyon@sltrib.com

Go to utahfoodbank.org. Food can also be dropped off at 1025 S. 700 West in Salt Lake City.