NY Beef Checkoff Focuses on Social Outreach During COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the entire world, altering the daily lives and shopping habits of Americans, creating plant closures and unknown long-term effects on the cattle market. The New York Beef Council (NYBC) has pivoted time and resources away from the scheduled in-person education efforts of social influencers, registered dietitians, school fitness administrators, and culinary students and instead is focusing efforts on connecting with consumers directly through social media outreach.
Concerned and confused consumers purchasing beef in bulk are turning to online platforms looking for food safety and storage guidance, recipe inspiration, and cooking tips for less familiar cuts. NYBC and Beef It’s What’s For Dinner continues to work diligently sharing beef’s story and value from the farm to the dinner plate, assuring consumers that beef is a nutritious, safe, and high-quality protein deserving to be at the center of their family’s plate.
Follow New York Beef Council across social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and Twitter to see the diverse beef content being shared with consumers. NYBC is creating fun and unique opportunities for followers to connect with beef via Facebook and Instagram page takeovers. Local farmers and area food influencers, such as blogger and chefs, will be making guest appearances across platforms providing farm updates, recipe inspiration, and cooking tips. In addition, NYBC will be partnering with NY Ag in the Classroom and area farmers to provide two virtual farm fieldtrip opportunities in May and June.
During this unprecedented time, it is as important as ever to connect with our consumers and support our industry partners. The 3rd Annual Best NY Burger Contest was launched on April 1, 2020. NYS restaurants have created a “Curb Appeal” for their customers during COVID-19 and NYBC is working to create “Crave Appeal” to support the amazing restaurants in our local communities and highlight the delicious, juicy, drool-worthy beef burgers available on menus across New York. The Best NY Burger Contest, fueled by the power of social media, will allow Facebook users across the state to submit nominations and vote for their top choice of a traditional, multi-layer or out-of-the-box, beef-centric burger. After the 10 top burgers are selected via nominations a second phase of the contest will include consumer voting to determine the people’s choice, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place burgers. Each restaurant will be highlighted on NYBC Facebook page and encouraged to rally their customers to nominate and vote for their top burger! Full contest rules and voting will take place at www.nybeef.org under the Monthly Contest section.
Each month NYBC publishes a e-newsletter to provide updates to all beef and dairy farmers in NY on how their Beef Checkoff dollars are being invested. In addition, a quarterly mailed newsletter, The Drive, is delivered directly to mailboxes. Looking for more information on how and where your Beef Checkoff dollars are invested? Visit the Farmer’s Fencepost section of nybeef.org sign up for The Drive or follow NY Beef Checkoff on Facebook. The New York Beef Council’s mission is to enhance the lives of consumers by connecting them with beef and the beef community. This is done strictly through education and promotion efforts under the guidance of the United State Department of Agriculture. For more information on the Beef Checkoff visit www.beefboard.org.