Beef Checkoff Tapped For Foodservice Hall Of Fame
Date: Monday, October 30, 2006Contact: Stephanie Darling 303/850-3359 sdarling@beef.org
Diane Henderson 303-850-3465 dhenderson@beefboard.org
Beef Checkoff Tapped For Foodservice Hall Of Fame
Checkoff recognized for service and a product
that sold 8.4 billion pounds in FY 2006
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (Oct. 30, 2006) – The Beef Checkoff Program is one of only five honorees and the first commodity to be inducted into the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators (MUFSO) “Supplier Hall of Fame.”
Cattlemen’s Beef Board Chairman Jay O’Brien, a producer from
“Each day, nearly a million hardworking men and women go about the business of putting beef on
The beef checkoff was “a very appropriate choice,” said Paul Frumkin, deputy managing editor of the magazine. “They have participated with us for years and have been active in educating members about ways in which beef products can be menued more creatively for the restaurant patron and more profitably for the restaurant operator.”
The awards ceremony notes that Hall-of-Fame induction is reserved for “those select few suppliers who have set a standard of excellence for an entire industry through their outstanding commitment to quality, delivery and service.”
The Beef Checkoff is the first inductee in several years, as the award is not given annually, Frumkin added. Other inductees in MUFSO’s 47-year-history are American Express, Ecolab, Coca-Cola and Rich Products.
“Foodservice is one of the best resources we have for promoting beef, especially in partnerships with chain restaurants. They’ve chipped in more than $57 for every checkoff dollar we’ve invested in the program since 2001, so that’s allowed us to maximize our investment far more than if we were on our own,” said Brian Healey, vice chairman of the checkoff’s Joint Foodservice Committee and an Oklahoma cattleman, who was in Dallas for the award presentation.
Beef promotion in the foodservice industry has been a notable, particularly in 2006, when nearly 8.4 billion pounds of beef, valued at more than $25.7 billion wholesale, was sold through the foodservice channel. Checkoff partnerships with major restaurant chains last year resulted in 10-million pounds in sales. Additionally, foodservice has played a major role in establishing the Flat Iron, Petite Tender and Ranch Cut steaks—all products developed with checkoff dollars. The combined sales volume of these three cuts last year totaled 169 million pounds.
The MUFSO event is held annually for senior executives and other top professionals in the foodservice industry. This channel represents 925,000 individual locations, with projected sales for calendar 2006 of $511 billion.
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 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.
Funded by the Beef Checkoff.