The Washington State Dairy Ambassador Shannon Rodeffer brought a three week old calf to Roxhill Elementary school on Valentines Day, Feb, 14 to share with the students the story of dairy’s farm-to-table journey and the benefits of dairy and calcium for children’s growing bodies.

The visit was part of the Washington Grown Harvest of the Month program, designed to engage students in a variety of settings where nutrition education can have the biggest impact -- the classroom, cafeteria and home. Each month, a Washington-grown item will be showcased; in February, the highlight is on dairy products.

The calf, named Polly, is a Jersey cow. "Jersey's are the smallest of the dairy breeds but they have some of the richest milk. It's good for making butter and ice cream," said Rodeffer.

How does a person get to be the Dairy Ambassador? It helps to be very familiar with cows, and Rodeffer is, having raised them and proving with a firm grip that she has experience milking them too.

"I lived on a dairy farm through my childhood," explained Rodeffer," and I was active in 4H and FFA and I wanted to learn more about the industry and studied a lot. That's how I got to be where I am." Rodeffer has also been to national competitions and being selected to be Dairy Ambassador was a rigorous contest for the role that involves a lot of public speaking. She will serve until next June.

She has written a small book about her own cow Ingrid in fact that is being distributed to the students. "It talks about how the milk gets from the farm to the table and about some of her friends and where she's been."

The program is being offered through a Centers for Disease Control and Communities Putting Prevention to Work grant, secured by Seattle Public Schools. Seattle Schools promotes healthy eating and active living through a collaboration between nutrition services, health education, physical education and risk management departments.