Bedford – Beef and veal have been popular this past year in middle and high school culinary classrooms across the commonwealth. For its sixth year, the Pennsylvania Beef Council (PBC) provided beef or veal grants to family and consumer science teachers during the 2016-2017 school year with approximately 5,500 students benefitting from the grant program.
This year, the beef council had the opportunity to visit two culinary classrooms, both on Tuesday, January 17, utilizing the grant. The first visit to Ms. Ream’s class at Salisbury-Elk Lick High School. Staff enjoyed watching the students learn about cooking with veal and preparing veal marsala. Ms. Ream noted, “Being part of the Veal in the Classroom program was a unique experience, without the help of this grant, my students would not have the opportunity to experience veal.” The second visit was with students in Ms. Diehl’s class at Berlin Brothers Valley High School. Students met with staff, learning more about how veal calves are raised in Pennsylvania, as well as the great nutritional profile of veal. The students then prepared veal burgers to taste. The students found that veal was easy to prepare and complimented the other ingredients it was cooked with.
As part of the Pennsylvania Association of Family & Consumer Sciences Conference, the beef council also prepared an enlightening presentation for the culinary educators during their annual meeting on Friday, April 28. Staff, alongside Beef & Veal in the Classroom participant Ms. Patty Sedlock, demonstrated quick and simple beef recipe that fellow educators can use in high school and middle school culinary classrooms, such as tacos that use a homemade seasoning mix. Patty noted, “Using this grant has given my students added cooking experiences I probably would not be able to do otherwise. The added resource of the Farmland video lets me showcase the other side of the beef industry. It helps combat what they view on the internet." The session also included an overview of the veal industry and an up-close look at the beef and veal resources available for in-class use such as lesson plans and access to Farmland, a film that profiles farmers and ranchers, all of whom have assumed the generational responsibility of running the family business. The session also served as an opportunity to launch the Beef & Veal in the Classroom grant program for the 2017-2018 school year.
The grants are made possible through the Pennsylvania Beef Council and a partnership with Mountain States Rosen, Formula One Feeds and Waja Growers, as well as Marcho Veal, a new partner this year. Each year, 60 Family and Consumer Science classrooms are selected to participate in the Beef & Veal in the Classroom Program. Teachers are either offered reimbursement for beef purchases or veal product delivered to their school for in-class lessons. For more information about the 2017-2018 grant program, please visit the PA Beef Council’s website.
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.
Source: The Pennsylvania Beef Council