Ephrata School District Elevates School Meals with Fresh, Local Beef and Student-Approved Innovation
January 22, 2026 | 3 min to read
EPHRATA, Pa. — Ephrata School District is redefining what school meals can be by introducing fresh, Pennsylvania-sourced beef into its cafeterias and creating menu items that students are excited to try and eager to see return. Through its participation in the PA Beef to PA Schools program, the district has added slow-roasted beef dishes, smash burgers, birria quesadillas, and more, with overwhelmingly positive feedback from students.
Foodservice Director Teri Gamez first learned about the opportunity from a colleague and fellow foodservice director, Kelly Price. “I said, I need to get involved in this,” Gamez recalled. “Seeing how Kelly’s students responded to fresh, local beef made me want to bring the same experience to our kids at Ephrata.”
The district started participating in mid-2024, with Gamez eager to bring one of her favorite homemade dishes, slow-roasted beef birria, into the school kitchen. Initially unsure if she could recreate the dish in a school setting, she slow-roasted chuck roast for 4–6 hours and served birria samples during one of the district’s “First Friday” cafeteria events. The response was immediate.
“Students kept coming back asking if it was coming back,” Gamez said. “We did a limited time offer with birria quesadillas and sold a ton of them. We always wonder if they’ll try something new, but they absolutely did; they loved it.”
Ephrata High School currently uses 750–800 pounds of fresh local beef each month and plans to expand the program into the middle school beginning in February. Birria dishes performed so well that they were added to the monthly rotation and expanded into burrito bowls.
“Students get excited knowing the beef is fresh and supports farms in our community,” Gamez shared. Smash burgers have quickly become a student favorite, and stir-fry beef is planned for later this school year.
The district sources its beef from Happy Valley Meat Company, and each meal includes signage and photos from the supplying farm to help students connect their meals to local agriculture.
The high school serves approximately 1,300 students, and Gamez hopes expanding to the middle school will help even more students engage with fresh, local foods, many of which they may not have access to at home.
Nearly 46% of the district’s students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. For Gamez, this underscores the importance of offering high-quality, fresh ingredients. “I feel like it’s important because I want the students to have fresh, local foods,” she explained. “So many don’t get access to fresh food at home. This program lets us introduce them to new, local items that they end up loving and enjoying.”
Ephrata School District also integrates fresh, local produce through area farmers’ markets and produce auctions, creating a holistic approach to local sourcing.
With strong student enthusiasm, creative menu development, and deep community connections, Ephrata’s implementation of PA Beef to PA Schools has become a model of innovation and impact. “We’re so glad the beef program was able to happen again this year,” Gamez said. “It’s going really well, and we’re excited for what comes next.”
To learn more about PBPS contact Nichole Hockenberry, PA Beef Council Executive Director at nhockenberry@pabeef.org or 1-888-4BEEFPA.
The Pennsylvania Beef Council is a producer-controlled and funded organization, which administers the Beef Checkoff Program in Pennsylvania. The Beef Checkoff Program 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. Checkoff revenues may be used for promotion, education and research programs to improve the marketing climate for beef.