The Wilmington morning star., 1940-04-08
FREEZER LOCKERS
AID TO FARMERS
Make It Possible To Have
Fresh Meat In August;
Vegetables At Christmas

.snaragus in October and strawberry
sbortcake for Thanksgiving. These
sre some of the previously unheard
~ things made possible for farm PEG.
,e by freezer lockers, the newest
development in the field of food
.torage which has come to North
carolina within the past two years.
r. Dalton Swaffar, instructor in
ina State college Animal Husbandry
apartment, says that the value and
novelty of eating fresh fruits and
vegetables out of season is signific.
ant. "but," he adds, 1.-THE ability to
slaughter meat animals on the farm
At any season Of the year, store them
without danger of spoilings, and i'm.
move the flavor Of the meat at the
same time. is the greatest achieve.
n,ent of the freezer locker"
Seldom has any new development
caught on so rapidly and creates SO
much interest in its use, influence,
and future as has the cold storage
locker. Practically unknown five or
six years ago, these locker units are
in operation now in most of the
states. and three units are located
in North Carolina.
Nance Pioneers In State
r. Z. Nance, a former instructor
in animal husbandry and Extension
service specialist Of State college,
nioneered in this field in North
carolina with the establishment of
. plant at Lumberton. Then Rus
sci G. B~roaddus, extension agricul.
tural engineer, resigned from the
State college staff to open, with as
sociates. a modern plant in Raleigh.
The third freezer plant was estab.
lished at Monroe, under the manage
ment of ]. S. Boyles, a 1889 graduate
Of State college in animal produc-
lion.
Svaffar says the advantages and
economies to a patron OF a freezer
locker plant are many. 1T enables
both farmers and t~ownspeople to eff.
feet savings in their annual food
bill of from SIS to 500 per year,
based on government records of per
CAPITA consumption of meats alone.
At the same time it helps them to
enjoy a better living through q
greater utilization of homegrown
meats, fruits, berries. and vege-
tables.
"since a farmer can satisfy most
i Of his meat requirements at ap-
proximately his cost for growing an
animal or fowl, he makes substantial
q savings. Similar economies a be
{ made by the city or town dweller by
purchasing meats, fruits, berries,
l and vegetables in bulk quantities
/ from a grower or dealer" the col
lege instructor said.
J Turning to the subject Of prepar-
ing meats for freezing, Swaffar said
all meats should be from healthy
animal that have been dressed in
a proper and sanitary manner. Clean
meat keeps better than that which
las been soiled and contaminated in
handling and hauling.
Good Marbling Is Important
Many locker renters find it a
good plan to feed the animals in
tended for slaughter until they have
a good covering of fat" the animal
h%usbandman continued. when the
animals have this covering of fat,
the amount of 'marbling,' or streaks
OF fat within the lean part Of the
meat, is increased. The product is
not only Of better flavor and more
palatable, but it is also more tender
and has a higher nutritive value.
Neither a long period of time mol
a large amount of feed is necessary
to fatten the animals so that their
meat is we'll marbled before fatten-
ing. Calves can be well fattened in
loO to 40 days, and two-year-old
beef type animals in 80 days"
swaffar explained that the ageing
Which the freezer locker plant pro-
fldes at a temperature of "a to 3S
degrees before freezing, improves
the quality of meats.
From the standpoint of safety.
there is no time limit for the storage
Of foods in freezer lockers. For best
results from the standpoint of pala-
liability, however. pork should be
used within three to four months,
beef within six months, fish within
nine months, poultry within Is
months, and unless they are sealed
IN containers, fruits and vegetables
ehould be used within six months.
IN conclusion, Swaffar said: "The
amer or producer is no longer
sphsed to sell all this meat and pro.
ouce at low in-season prices. He
can store them for home use or for
higher market prices. Butchering
cah be done the year round, often
al1ording a material saving in food
'ills when prices are high. House
wives can be relieved of hot can
nng'day drudgery because fresh
fruits and vegetables can be quick
frozen and kept in their original
tlath nf