​Suggested lead
 
The state's farm to school efforts are beefing up with the help of an endurance athlete running the length of the Oregon coast:
 
(NOTE: The coastal marathon began Monday, April 2 and will conclude Monday April 9) 

 
Entire audio file
 

Audio 01
Dane Rauschenberg is an extreme athlete, motivational speaker, and author who is an advocate of lean beef and its positive impact on athletes of all types. He's spending a week running 350 miles of the Oregon coast, stopping at various high schools to deliver product samples and his message that beef is a quality source of protein and other nutrients. Michelle Ratcliffe of the Oregon Department of Agriculture says the promotion fits right in with farm to school efforts: 

RATCLIFFE: "Farm to school is about not only fruits and vegetables, but beef, seafood, all of Oregon's agricultural bounty." :08

 

audio file

Audio 02
Oregon's farm to school efforts match up local food producers with schools, along with classroom messages about nutrition and where food comes from. The beef promotion is just the latest effort to establish a stronger tie with kids, schools, and the lunch tray: 

RATCLIFFE: "Farm to school program are maturing and institutionalizing. In the last couple of years, we've gone from a handful of schools to 90 out of our 189 school districts serving Oregon agricultural products. Those 90 school districts pencil out to about 70 percent of the students in Oregon being served."  :19

 

audio file

 
Audiences for Rauschenberg, the distance runner, have ranged from entire high school student bodies to track teams to health classes. The message is the same- good nutrition is important, lean beef is a good source of nutrition, and Oregon can supply high quality beef products to schools. In Salem, I'm Bruce Pokarney.


Additional audio: Audio 03
RATCLIFFE says the latest beef promotion is a good example of how to get kids and schools more connected to farms and ranches in Oregon. It also helps local producers access school lunch programs: 

"It really gets kids excited about eating beef. In many schools across the state, schools are buying Oregon beef and serving it, and promoting it to the kids. And the kids love it." :10

 

audio file

Additional audio: Audio 04
RATCLIFFE shoots down the misconception that farm to school efforts in Oregon only deal with a narrow range of locally produced foods: 

"Farm to school is maturing in Oregon. It's not just about fresh fruits and vegetables, but also processed fruits and vegetables into main entrees of the meal. It's about protein sources- it's dairy, it's beef, and it's seafood and poultry." :14

 

audio file

Full story
 
http://oregon.gov/ODA/news/120404beef_promotion.shtml