Colorado Food Banks to Receive 16,000 Pounds of Beef
Local beef processor and nation's cattle farmers and ranchers join forces to make largest-ever beef donation and delivery to feeding Colorado.
DENVER (Feb. 2, 2011) — It's easy to think that in the land of plenty, everyone has consistent access to high-quality, nourishing foods, like beef. However, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in 2009, more than 50 million Americans were food insecure and did not have consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle.
Today, in conjunction with the largest gathering of the nation's cattlemen and women for their annual meeting in Denver, Greeley-based JBS USA — the world's largest animal protein processor — and cattle farmers and ranchers from around the country made the largest-ever donation and delivery of 16,000 pounds (lb.) of beef and checkoff-funded nutrition information to Colorado's Feeding America Food Banks, drawing attention to the very serious issue of food insecurity right here in our own communities.
Food Bank of the Rockies will divide and distribute the donation to five Feeding America member food banks throughout the state of Colorado.
High-quality and nutritionally efficient foods, such as beef, are important to help meet daily nutritional requirements. One 3-ounce (oz.) serving of lean beef provides 10 essential nutrients, including protein and B vitamins. Iron and zinc deficiencies are common worldwide and beef is a good source of iron and an excellent source of zinc.
By continuing to innovate and advance what they do, the entire beef industry is able to work together to provide nutritious food to feed a growing population around the world.
"Compared to 50 years ago, there are half as many farmers and ranchers today feeding a United States population that has more than doubled," said Debbie Lyons-Blythe, cattle farmer from Kansas in town for the 2011 Cattle Industry Convention. "Our population will only continue to grow, so farmers and ranchers like me remain committed to feeding a growing population by providing an affordable supply of high-quality, nutritious beef so that all Americans can have enough food for a healthy, active lifestyle."
The entire beef industry is committed to working together to produce high-quality, nutritious beef. America's cattle farmers and ranchers, through their beef checkoff, invest in research and programs to improve beef safety and quality and to educate consumers on how beef is produced. To learn more about how America's cattle farmers and ranchers are working to fight hunger, visit the checkoff-funded www.ExploreBeef.org.
To learn more about your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.
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About the beef checkoff: 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 retain up to 50¢ on the dollar and forward the other 50¢ per head to the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
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Editor’s Note: The above article is adapted from a news release provided by the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board.
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