Sanford’s partnership with beef program in schools expands
PIERRE, S.D — Athletes from 27 South Dakota high schools and communities will benefit from the continued partnership among Sanford Health, the Sanford Sports Science Institute and the South Dakota Beef Industry Council (SDBIC) through the expansion of the Build Your Base with Beef program.
The partnership is moving into year two of the three-year pilot program as it continues this fall in football programs across the state with the addition of 17 new schools. This three-year pilot was designed for football players; however, educational material will be open to all athletes at selected schools.
This comprehensive sports nutrition and training program strives to prepare young athletes and their families for a successful sports season while developing nutritional and training habits that build overall success towards a healthy lifestyle.
“We were extremely pleased with the outcome of the first year results as we saw a significant increase in parental confidence towards feeding their athletes and positive reports from our retail sector as they saw demand for beef rise with the inclusion of retail toolkits provided to the grocers in each of the pilot communities,” said Suzy Geppert, executive director of the SDBIC. “Partnerships like this allow us to not only build beef’s value, but also provide us an opportunity to extend beef information to schools and communities across the state.”
The demand for the program led to an application process as schools completed and returned them to the SDBIC and were selected by committee members made up of Sanford and SDBIC representatives. The following schools will return from the initial 2018 pilot for the 2019 season:
- Alcester-Hudson
- Centerville
- Custer
- Harding County
- Selby Area
- Sioux Falls Lincoln
- Sioux Falls Roosevelt
- Timberlake
- Warner
- Winner
Newly selected schools include:
- Brandon Valley
- Chamberlain
- Dakota Valley
- Huron
- Lemmon
- Mitchell
- Newell
- North Border (four-school co-op)
- Parker
- Philip High
- Rapid City Central
- Sioux Falls Christian
- Sisseton
- Viborg-Hurley
- Wagner
- White River
- Wolsey/Wessington
Both the SDBIC and the Sanford Sports Science Institute see the value of the program and the support it provides to South Dakota schools and communities.
“We look forward to supporting the health, well-being and performance of high school student-athletes and engaging with even more communities across South Dakota as this program grows,” states Thayne Munce, Ph.D., associate director of the Sanford Sports Science Institute.
