The National Harbor Wine and Food Festival at National Harbor, Maryland brought together world-renowned chefs, artisanal craftsmen, and culinary pioneers with thousands of Metro DC’s foodies and the beef checkoff-funded National Beef Ambassador team!
The checkoff’s “Beef Booth” was a crowd favorite at the event, drawing thousands of consumers over the two-day event to sample healthy, lean beef that had been rubbed with an amazing combination of coffee, salt, pepper and Monterial steak seasoning and then grilled, low and slow on the BBQ. National Beef Ambassadors were on hand to serve more than 5,000 beef samples and engage with consumers, answering questions ranging from beef nutrition, different choices in beef, and new recipe ideas.
During the event, the ambassadors also shared information about the new BOLD study (Beef in an Optimal Lean Diet) with several consumers who questioned beef’s nutritional value. The consumers were excited to learn about the study results, which verified that eating lean beef on a daily basis can help to reduce cholesterol.
Beef Ambassador Rossie Blinson of North Carolina, said, “The festival was a great event. There were many beef enthusiasts there to enjoy our product and engage with the ambassadors. People were very interested in the recipes and information that we were handing out, and our line for beef samples was quite impressive. The National Harbor event was a huge success!”
The National Beef Ambassadors Program, which began in 1988, selects a team of five young people, ages 17 to 20, to train as future spokespersons and leaders in the beef industry. The 2012 team includes: Kim Rounds (California), John Weber (Minnesota), Rossie Blinson (North Carolina), Arika Snyder (Pennsylvania), and Emily Jack (Texas).
Visit www.nationalbeefambassador.org or www.ancw.org for more information about the ambassadors program and, for more information about your beef checkoff, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.
The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
Source: The Beef Checkoff Program
