Bedford, PA – The Pennsylvania Beef Council (PBC) has been a long time member and sponsor of the School Nutrition Association of Pennsylvania(SNAPa) to provide school foodservice professionals beef resources from recipe inspirations to farm immersion events. SNAPa is the statewide organization that is committed to advancing the quality of child nutrition programs through education and advocacy.
SNAPa’s annual conference took place in Hershey, PA July 28-31 attracting nearly 400 attendees. The PBC staff was able to take a group of 100 SNAPa members who chose to partake in a field trip to a local farm on Tuesday, July 30th. The group was made up of dietitians, school lunch program decision makers and cafeteria staff representing 59 school districts from across the state.
The group spent the evening at the Masonic Village Farms which spans across approximately 500 acres. The farm includes 150 mature cows and the capacity to feed 300 head of cattle in their feedlot facility. The farm has garnered national recognition for their commitment to Beef Quality Assurance practices and their dedication to sustainability efforts. They are stellar stewards of both their land and animals.
Farm Manager, Frank Stoltzfus, and Herd Manager, Scotty Miller led the group through the farm tour sharing what they do day-to-day to ensure their cattle are taken care of properly and how nutrition plays into a quality beef product. The group was able to view both the cow-calf operation as well as the feedlot. The evening ended with an open Q&A session and a beef dinner before loading the school buses to head back to their convention.
“This was a great opportunity to share the faces behind beef with those that help to feed and nourish the next generation. We are grateful for the association’s interest in learning more when it comes to the beef community and look forward to working together in the future,” said Nichole Hockenberry, Director of Marketing and Communications, PA Beef Council.”
To learn more about the Pennsylvania Beef Council, visit www.pabeef.org.
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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 may 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. Internal links within this document are funded and maintained by the Beef Checkoff. All other outgoing links are to websites maintained by third parties.
