Runners and their families attending the 2017 Broad Street Run Health & Fitness Expo in Philadelphia were encouraged to fuel up with beef. The expo kicked off Pennsylvania’s May Beef Month celebrations on Saturday, May 6, with a Team Beef member “Meat & Greet” pre-race reception leading up to race day.
Deputy Secretary Greg Hostetter, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, was on hand at the Meat & Greet to offer remarks and present the official May is Beef Month proclamation. “We’re here today because oftentimes the best way to observe and to celebrate something is to give back and say thank you,” said Hostetter. “I applaud the effort to engage and educate those who are not connected to agriculture to inspire them to be advocates of the beef industry.”
Approximately 40,000 runners and their families toured the expo during the two-day event. Checkoff staff from the Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative and the Pennsylvania Beef Council offered beef jerky, recipes and nutritional information to expo visitors. Attendees also learned the importance of fueling up with high-quality protein through the checkoff’s Protein Challenge campaign. Millennial-2-Millennial advocate and Penn State University Animal Science student Kara Zolocsik and several Team Beef members also assisted by staffing the beef booth. After interacting with booth staff, an on-site event survey showed that 88 percent of attendees polled felt the positives of beef outweigh the negatives.
Through the Protein Challenge campaign, expo attendees learned the importance of powering up with protein. Staff also highlighted the importance of considering the caloric cost of various proteins and the quantity one would need to consume to meet their protein requirements as outlined in the checkoff’s “Big Nutrition, Small Package” brochure.
A total of 10 runners represented Team Beef during the nation’s largest 10-mile road race (and the largest race in Pennsylvania) on Sunday, May 7. Members proudly sported red Team Beef race jerseys as they crossed the finish line.
“Beef is a great tasting, high-quality protein packed with 10 essential nutrients for optimal health,” noted Bridget Bingham, Pennsylvania Beef Council executive director. “We deeply value and appreciate having a serious team of athletes who willingly and authentically advocate for beef’s nutritional value. Thank you, Team BEEF!”
This was made possible by a partnership between the national beef checkoff and the South Dakota Beef Industry Council, with additional funding from the Pennsylvania Beef Council in cooperation with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association through the Federation Initiative Fund.
To learn more about the Northeast Team Beef activities, visit www.NEBPI.org. To learn more about your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.
Source: The Beef Checkoff Program