Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts Teams up with American Farm Bureau Federation to Support Agriculture, Education and Focus on the Future of Food

(Escoffier) and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) announce a new national collaboration designed to support the vital connection between farmers, ranchers and the culinary industry with education-focused programs, interactive events and training sessions.

Through this joint effort, AFBF will offer Escoffier culinary students unprecedented opportunities to interact with farmers across the country to better understand and experience sustainable farming practices and innovations in agriculture, including virtual learning sessions that augment Escoffier’s curriculum as well as live farm-to-table events. In addition, the culinary-farmer collaboration includes Escoffier’s participation in AFBF’s Convention, “Target Training” conference, “Amplify Agriculture” online series and networking events. Escoffier also becomes the preferred culinary school of AFBF throughout the duration of the relationship.

“This new alliance opens the door for us to cultivate meaningful relationships with aspiring chefs and culinary thought leaders and share advances and innovations in farming,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “Farmers and ranchers produce the food that chefs choose and prepare every day. We look forward to sharing our stories and perspectives with those writing the menus that shape consumer dining trends.”

With nearly 6 million member families and 2,800 county Farm Bureaus, AFBF is the country’s largest general farm organization. AFBF’s national Promotion and Education Committee will lead the collaborative effort for the federation. The committee works to equip grassroots farmer and rancher members with effective tools to increase consumer awareness and understanding of agriculture. Escoffier currently has more than 7,300 students and is the largest culinary school brand in the U.S., with campuses in Austin and Boulder, including their degree and diploma programs offered online.

The collaboration kicks off Aug. 10 at 8:00 p.m. EDT with AFBF’s “Amplify Agriculture” free online episode, “Sowing Seeds of Knowledge: Exploring the Essential Collaboration between Farmers and Culinary Education.” Escoffier Provost and Boulder Campus President Kirk T. Bachmann and Director of Education Stephanie Michalak White will be interviewed and on hand for a live question and answer session. Registration is complimentary and open to the public.

“It is essential to understand where our food comes from, how it’s grown and produced, and who better than farmers and ranchers to bring lessons on agriculture and best practices to life,” said Bachmann. “Escoffier’s commitment to farm-to-table and teaching sustainable practices is a natural fit with the goals of Farm Bureau members who are passionate about conveying the significance of agriculture. We are grateful for this opportunity to work together,” he added.

More about Escoffier

Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts (Escoffier) is the largest culinary school brand in the U.S. (based on comparable student population data currently reported in IPEDS). It is the only U.S. accredited institution, available through its Boulder campus, to offer 100 percent online culinary degrees which include culinary classes and hands-on industry externships. Ranked in the top 10 culinary schools in the United States by USA Today and number one in the world by Chef’s Pencil, the school’s professional programs offer the proven combination of a classic and contemporary approach to industry skills training as well as sustainability-centered and business-focused curriculum. Escoffier is a Great Place to Work-Certified™ institution, a Newsweek Top Online Learning School and its Boulder (includes online programs) and Austin campuses are designated as Military Friendly® Schools.

Escoffier offers diploma programs for culinary arts, pastry arts, food entrepreneurship and plant-based culinary arts as well as Associate of Applied Science degrees in culinary arts, pastry arts and Associate of Occupational Studies degrees in culinary arts, baking and pastry, plant-based culinary arts, hospitality and restaurant operations management, holistic nutrition and wellness and food entrepreneurship. Click for more information on Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts accreditations and degree and diploma programs.

More about American Farm Bureau Federation

As the nation’s largest general farm organization, Farm Bureau is a grassroots membership agricultural non-profit. Farm Bureau organizes farmers and ranchers at the local, state and national levels to serve as the voice of agriculture. The issues and concerns that are most important to Farm Bureau’s grassroots membership drive the work of the organization. Farm Bureau’s mission is to build a sustainable future of safe and abundant food, fiber and renewable fuel for our nation and our world. Learn more at http://facebook.com/FarmBureau or follow @FarmBureau on Twitter or @farmbureau on Instagram.