Beef had an impressive presence during the 45th New Balance Falmouth Road Race on August 20. Four Team Beef members started in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and ran along the beautiful coast of Cape Cod into Falmouth Heights, with more than 12,000 other runners from the surrounding New England region and international areas.
Leading up to the race, the checkoff participated in the annual Falmouth Road Race Health & Fitness Expo which was visited by approximately 75,000 runners and their families. Visitors at the beef checkoff booth enjoyed beef jerky samples and learned about beef’s versatility and value as part of an athlete’s diet and lifestyle.
The checkoff partnered with Chrissy Carroll (pictured), Registered Dietitian, USAT Level 1 Triathlon Coach and blogger at Snacking in Sneakers to share “3 Reasons Why Runners Should Eat Beef” leading up to the race. She then posted a recap of her experience with Team Beef on her blog. Chrissy was on-hand during the expo to answer runners’ last-minute sports nutrition questions and explain how beef fits into the mix.
Pennsylvania beef producer and former Millennial 2 Millennial (M2M) Beef Advocate Ezra Swope noted, “Having the opportunity to interact with our consumers was an extremely valuable experience for me as a producer because it allowed me to understand their point of view. I would highly recommend that all beef producers join their state’s council staff at consumer events.”
At the beef booth consumers had the chance to enter to win a steakhouse gift card by participating in an educational survey. Of those polled, only 36 percent were aware that 40 percent of food taken home by Americans goes uneaten; 87.5 percent of survey entrants had a favorable opinion of beef.
Events like the New Balance Falmouth Road Race allow the checkoff to engage directly with consumers, including athletes, to highlight beef’s taste and nutritional benefits as well as cooking techniques. Checkoff-funded research in the Northeast shows that consumers are interested in making changes to improve the healthiness of their lifestyle. Interacting face-to-face with them helps get their nutrition and cooking questions answered.
For more information about the race, search #BeefFuelsFalmouth on Twitter. Participation in this event was made possible by the Kentucky Beef Council. For more information, visit NEBPI.org or MyBeefCheckoff.com.
Source: Beef Checkoff