Turner Dairy, which supplies most of the Pittsburgh Regional Food Service Directors school districts with milk for student meals, provided 8-ounce cartons of Smiley Cookie milk at the event. The dairy also donated the vanilla yogurt that was used in samples of breakfast morning yogurt and fruit parfaits, as an example of one of the recipes offered to schools by ADA North East.
Frye and Turner were on hand to further help build trust and confidence in dairy by helping participants make the connection with where and how it is produced and processed. Turners developed a video highlighting its processing plant to share with the group, and Frye participated in a question and answer session with ADA North East Director of Industry Relations Amy Leslie.
“It was great to be part of the summit to represent the dairy farmer-funded school programs of ADA North East, because it is critically important that dairy continues to have a secure place on school menus and with the school nutrition directors who manage those menus daily,” said Frye. “I’m proud to have represented dairy farmers during this event by promoting locally produced and processed dairy products and their importance as part of a healthy diet for students.”
Frye milks 50 cows in a robotic “smart barn,” selling a portion of the milk to Turner Dairy and processing a portion of the milk on-farm into cheese marketed in the Pittsburgh area under the label The Creamery at Pleasant Lane Farms.
Former Steelers Harris and Shazier participated in the event to discuss the importance of school meals and the value of dairy for good nutrition. They also commended the school nutrition directors for overcoming the obstacles and challenges during the pandemic to ensure that students had access to healthy meals.
To learn more about ADA North East’s school nutrition programs, visit AmericanDairy.com under “In Schools.”
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Photo captions:
Leslie & Frye: American Dairy Association North East Director of Industry Relations Amy Leslie conducts a Q & A session about how milk is produced with dairy farmer Jason Frye of Pleasant Lane Farms in Latrobe, Pa., during thePittsburgh School Food Service Summit on Friday, April 22, at Heinz Field.
Turner & Frye: Steve Turner of Turner Dairy, Pittsburgh, Pa., and dairy farmer Jason Frye of Pleasant Lane Farms, Latrobe, Pa., explain how dairy is produced and processed to Director of Food Services of Greater Latrobe School District Jillian Burge, MS, RDN, LDN.
Frye & Shazier: Dairy farmer Jason Frye of Pleasant Lane Farms, Latrobe, Pa., visits with former Pittsburgh Steeler Ryan Shazier who was a featured speaker at thePittsburgh School Food Service Summit on Friday, April 22, at Heinz Field.
Franco & Staff: Former Pittsburgh Steeler Franco Harris visits the American Dairy Association North East booth at the Pittsburgh School Food Service Summit on Friday, April 22, at Heinz Field.
About American Dairy Association North East
American Dairy Association North East (ADA North East) is the dairy farmer-funded organization funded by participating dairy farmer’s checkoff investment to build demand and sales for milk and dairy foods throughout the local region. Representing 9,000 dairy farm families in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and northern Virginia, ADA North East develops and implements local programs to drive milk and dairy sales at retail outlets and in schools. The organization also conducts consumer education about dairy through events, traditional and social media, and in collaboration with health professionals through National Dairy Council®. ADA North East works closely with Dairy Management Inc.™, the national dairy checkoff organization, to support nutrition research, national partnerships and developing export markets for dairy to bring a fully integrated promotion program to the region. For more information, visit www.AmericanDairy.com.
