Not all our consumers can take a farm tour but a great way to connect with consumers is through influencers. This month, we had the opportunity to bring Another Mother Runner and Cooking Matters to dairy farms in Colorado to give them a taste of farm life.
Another Mother Runner (AMR), an online community for women runners of all speeds, gave their 80,000 Facebook followers an opportunity to virtually visit McIntosh Dairy, owned by the Kraft Family. The group hosted a Facebook Live on farm allowing their followers to ask questions about cow care, nutrition and using milk as a refuel beverage. Through our partnership with AMR the video reached over 3000 people and the group is planning on sharing an additional video from their trip to McIntosh Dairy in the near future.
Another group of influencers the Cooking Matters Colorado staff and volunteers toured Twin View Farm on November 8 to learn about how milk is produced, and how to best educate families about dairy products. Alongside the national No Kid Hungry campaign working to end childhood hunger in America, Cooking Matters empowers low-income families with the skills needed to stretch their food budgets, so their children get healthy meals at home. Participants learn to shop smarter, use nutrition information to make healthier choices, and cook delicious, affordable meals. Cooking Matters courses and tours equip families with the skills they need to stretch their food dollars and put healthy meals on the table for their families. In 2016, more than 14,800 families graduated from their experiential education programs. The staff and volunteers from Cooking Matters will take what they learned on the dairy back to their classrooms to share with their program participants.
These tours are vital to helping share dairy’s message throughout our region. By inviting community influencers on a dairy tour they are able to take the positive experience they have and share it with their program participants, friends, colleges and coworkers.
