Lancaster, PA – The Pennsylvania Beef Council and American Dairy Association North East joined forces to host more than two dozen registered dietitians on the first-ever collaborative beef and dairy farm tour geared towards this highly influential group of healthcare professionals.
Retail dietitians from major grocery store chains, including ShopRite, Weis Markets, Wegmans, The GIANT Company and Giant Food, toured Hershey’s Lancaster Beef in Mount Joy and Kreider Farms in Manheim on Thursday, August 17th, where they discussed topics which highlighted the sustainable nutrition that beef and dairy products provide. The nutrition professionals also learned how producers utilize a multi-disciplinary approach for animal care, nutrition and production to deliver safe, wholesome and nutrient-rich foods that consumers can enjoy.
“We love visiting local farms and learning about the hard work that goes into feeding our customers. It was such a great experience seeing the entire process of how the beef and dairy products get to our stores. The farmers and their staff certainly do not get enough credit for how hard they work. I was in awe of how many hours they put into their days, and they likely can never take a day off because there is too much to be done. I always appreciated the work of farmers, but I will now take away a much greater appreciation after seeing it myself. Thank you to ADANE and PA Beef Council for providing this opportunity to retail RDs!” said Lyndi Mies, MHSc, RDN, LDN, Senior Clinical Regional Dietitian at Weis Markets.
Tour attendees were awarded with continuing professional education credits for their participation, which included a beef and dairy nutrition challenge to reinforce key learnings. They also received nutrition resources and recipes to share with their respective audiences at the retail level.
“Hosting healthcare professionals, like retail dietitians, on an event like a farm tour allows them to see first-hand how producers safely and sustainably produce nutritious beef and therefore they can confidently recommend it for their customers and clients and enjoy it themselves,” said Beth Stark, RDN, LDN, Director of Channel Marketing and Nutrition Outreach for PA Beef Council.
Media Contact: Beth Stark, RDN, LDN Director of Channel Marketing and Nutrition Outreach at Nutrition@PABeef.org
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.
