Last week, school food service professionals from across Washington gathered in Prosser for a hands-on, educational event to learn about including local beef in the school cafeteria.  The March 31st-April 1st event, hosted by the Washington State Beef Commission brought together 19 school nutrition professionals and farm to school coordinators in hopes of deepening their understanding of beef’s potential role in a healthy school meal program.

 

The two-day event started with a tour of Royal Family Farms in Royal City to learn about the beef lifecycle, from farm to fork.  Attendees were also presented with information that highlighted the importance of beef’s role in child nutrition from registered dietitian, Kori Dover. 

 

To wrap up, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Executive Chef, Dagan Lynn led a hands-on workshop with the attendees cooking five beef recipes created specifically for school menus.

 

“Helping school nutrition teams understand the versatility and nutritional value of beef empowers them to meet nutrition guidelines while also sparking fresh, creative ways to feature beef on their menus—and building a stronger connection between students and the food on their tray,” Dover said.

 

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