Model Dairy and the Education Foundation

“Rise to the Top” Literacy Initiative

GOLD MEDAL WINNER AT WORLD JERSEY CHEESE AWARDS

ADDED TO TASTING MENU, JUNE 25 IN ASHEVILLE

Reynoldsburg, Ohio (June 17, 2008)—Jersey Maid Neige en Ete, a Gold Medal winner at last month’s World Jersey Cheese Awards, has been added to the cheese plate being presented for a guided tasting Wednesday, June 25 in Asheville, N.C.  

The tasting will be conducted by Jeffrey Roberts, principal consultant for the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese and author of the acclaimed Atlas of American Artisan Cheese.  

Neige en Ete, created by cheesemaker John Miller of The Farmstead at Mine Brook, Charlemont, Mass., is a soft-ripened, bloomy rind cheese made from 100% Jersey milk. It was one of two Gold Medal winners for Miller at the first World Jersey Cheese Awards, held May 23 at the Royal Jersey Agricultural & Horticultural Society headquarters office in Jersey, Channel Islands.  

Also to be plated are:  

• Orb Weaver Cave Aged Farmhouse Cheese, made by two pioneers of farmstead cheese production, Marjorie Susman and Marian Pollack of New Haven, Vt. According to critic Marian Burros of the New York Times, cave-aged Orb Weaver presents “a robust, complex array of earthy flavors.”
• Thistle Hill Farm Tarentaise, made by John and Janine Putnam and family of North Pomfret, Vt. Max McCalman, maître fromager for Artisanal Premium Cheese, admires the “dense, complex” Tarentaise for its “subtle nutty flavor that establishes a large, lingering presence on the palate.”
• Vache Santé, a triple cream (75% fat), bloomy rind cheese from BitterSweet Plantation Dairy in Gonzales, La. It was selected for one of eight American Artisanal Treasure Awards in 2007. Company owner Chef John Folse is also sending samples of his new European style cultured butter made from Jersey cream.
• Jersey milk fresh farmhouse mozzarella, an award winner at American Cheese Society competitions created by Paul Stephan, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and owner of Blue Ridge Dairy Co., Leesburg, Va.
• Hickory Grove, a raw-milk, aged cheese made in the monastery style by Portia McKnight and Florence Hawley at Chapel Hill Creamery, Chapel Hill, N.C. David Auerbach of the Durham (N.C.) Independent Weekly calls it a cheese that is “delicious on its own, with apples and as a melter.”
• Berkshire Blue from Michael Miller at Berkshire Cheese Makers LLC, Lenox, Mass. This cheese was developed by Dr. Alan Duffield of Somerset, England and is made here in the U.S. under a licensing agreement.

Seating for the tasting, which begins at 4:00 p.m. on June 25, is limited to 100 persons. Tickets are $15 each and must be purchased in advance by calling Mary Beth Leamon at (704) 876-3689. Roberts’ seminar on artisanal cheeses produced with Jersey milk will precede the guided tasting. It begins at 3:00 p.m. and is open to the public.  

Both events, part of the program for the 2008 annual meetings of the American Jersey Cattle Association and National All-Jersey Inc.,  will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, located at One Resort Drive in Asheville.  

The American Jersey Cattle Association is the oldest dairy breed organization in the United States, organized in 1868 to improve and promote the Jersey breed. National All-Jersey Inc. was formed in December of 1957 to promote the increased production and sale of Jersey milk and milk products. For more information, visit USJersey.com or call 614/861-3636.  

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OVERVIEW  

As part of Model Dairy’s 100^th Anniversary, Model Dairy and the Education Foundation are teaming to tackle the growing problem of illiteracy in Washoe County .  Over 10 million children in the United States have difficulty reading.  With such overwhelming numbers, illiteracy is quickly evolving into an epidemic.   

Model Dairy and the Education Foundation are taking a leadership role in tackling illiteracy through a multi-tiered approach.  The following goals have been established:  

1. Donate $60,000 for reading materials in Washoe County schools and libraries
2. Encourage kids to read 10,000 books during the 2006-2007 school year
3. Collect 100 books for every year Model Dairy has been in business; 10,000 total  

Three primary initiatives have been developed to help Model Dairy reach the above goals:  

1. COLLECT CAPS FOR LITERACY
   Model Dairy will donate two-cents from all branded gallon milk sales to local schools and libraries to help fight illiteracy.  Parents, students and teachers will be encouraged to collect their caps from Model Dairy milk containers.  The amount of caps collected is directly linked to the amount that is donated.  The winning school will receive a Model Dairy ice cream party.  The Education Foundation will distribute the funds.
   
2. BE A READING ROLE MODEL
   The “Be A Reading Role Model” program is designed to encourage children to read more.  Each student will receive a “Be a Reading role Model” punch card. Every time a child reads a book, he or she will have their card punched.   With a full card (six punches), the child will receive a free pint of milk or ice cream from Model Dairy and be qualified for the Grand Prize — free home delivery of dairy products for an entire year. Children can complete as many cards as they want. Moreover, the school with the most cards collected will win a Model Dairy ice cream party.
   
3. BE A MODEL CITIZEN
   Model Dairy and the Education Foundation will partner with key retailers in Washoe County to place book collection bins in their locations.  With every three books donated (new or slightly used), customers will receive a free pint of Model Dairy milk and be qualified for the Grand Prize, home delivery for a year. 

Model Dairy and the Education Foundation embrace this opportunity to become a more literate society, but need everyone’s help to reach the program’s goals.  With teamwork between schools, retailers and parents, “Rise to the Top” benefits the children of Washoe County

Model Dairy: Rise to the Top – Be a Model Citizen and Be a Reading Role Model