In recognition of October as Women in Small Business Month, Flower Hill Institute teamed with Yanessa TV and Meet My Neighbor Productions to produce three podcasts highlighting growing meat processing businesses being led by strong, resilient women.
The first podcast, issued on Wednesday, October 16th, featured Danielle Carillo, who owns and operates Clark’s Custom Meats in St. Joseph, MO, along with her husband, Max.
The Carillos purchased Clark’s Custom Meats last year from Trina and Butch Clark, who founded the business out of their home in 2003. As Clark’s grew, they acquired a facility with a small retail shop on the highway leading into St. Joseph in 2021.
Danielle and Max moved back to St. Joseph and started working at Clark’s.
When USDA launched the Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant (MPIRG) in 2021, the two couples applied for funding to help them become an inspected facility under the Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program, in which participating states coordinate with USDA to offer federal-level inspection utilizing state inspectors.
Since then, Danielle and Max have assumed full ownership of the company. Danielle handles the company’s business and marketing initiatives while Max works in the processing room to ensure that Clark’s offers the highest-quality products—including sausage and jerky—for its customers.
With support through the MPIRG grant, Clark’s now operates as a USDA-inspected facility, which provides their farmer-suppliers with expanded marketing opportunities for their meat.
In the podcast, Danielle shares her experience as an unexpected journey and as a ministry dedicated to increasing access to healthy food within their community.