May 30/08 1:59 am - Dairy Farmers of Canada Sign on to Support Biking for Breakfast Challenge

Posted by Editoress on 05/30/08
 

Biking for Breakfast Challenge Supported by Dairy Farmers of Canada
Courtesy Ken Trenholm, Summerside Cycling

DFC signs a three-year contract with BFBC

The award-winning Biking for Breakfast Challenge (BFBC) obtained Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) support yesterday when DFC agreed to encourage the organization with moral and financial support behind the event that has grown 75 per cent per year in rider participation and fund-raising efforts since the event's inception -- four years ago.

DFC will be the Presenting Sponsor for BFBC for the next three years.

"Supporting the BFBC simply feels like a natural thing to do for Dairy Farmers of Canada," says Nathalie Roy, Registered Dietitian and representative for DFC in Atlantic Canada.

"Not only does this activity encourage a healthy meal like breakfast, but it also encourages active, healthy living like bicycling".

This partnership is a big piece of the breakfast puzzle for the BFBC says Chairperson and Founder, Ken Trenholm of Summerside.

"DFC was the only organization we approached to be our Presenting Sponsor", Trenholm recalls with a smile.

"We searched for an organization that we believe in, as much as they believe in us, and are fortunate to have found an organization that is such a fit with the event's message".

Roy also comments on the fit between this tip-to-tip bicycle charity fund-raiser for school breakfast programs and the principles of Dairy Farmers of Canada.

"It is a natural fit for DFC to support a health-minded program such as the Biking for Breakfast Challenge. DFC believes in supporting events that have a positive impact on the health and wellness of Canadians - as BFBC does".

Roy expands on DFC's commitment to this event and to healthy living: "It is our hope that our partnership with Biking for Breakfast Challenge will help create awareness of the number of children that go to school on an empty stomach, and to make it so that all children get a healthy,
balanced breakfast to start their day off right".

The most appealing aspects of BFBC for DFC are summarized by Nathalie Roy:

(1) What we find most appealing about the Biking for Breakfast Challenge is that it brings people together for a good cause: that of making sure that every child on Prince Edward Island starts his or her school day after having had a good balanced breakfast.

(2) Breakfast is a very important meal as it helps to reactivate your metabolism after fasting during a period ranging anywhere between five and twelve hours. A good breakfast should compensate for 25% of your daily energy needs.

(3) This activity also has the added benefit of engaging people into physical activity, something that DFC believes is key at helping Canadians achieve and maintain a better health.

Trenholm says that he hopes this partnership will also create awareness about the need for all people to choose a healthy lifestyle and to consume more milk products.

"One of the peripheral goals of the event is to highlight what people are capable of doing when they choose to live a healthy lifestyle. Few people can say they have bicycled an entire province, 278 km, in one day. Even fewer can say that by bicycling they have helped change the world and make life better for our children - for our communities."

When asked about how he is training for this event and how he incorporates milk in his diet, Trenholm is quick to point out his family consumes 16 litres of milk per week. Trenholm regularly trains and drinks chocolate milk as a post-workout drink.

"Chocolate milk has been proven to be one of the best post-workout energy drinks," says Trenholm.

"You can disregard your expensive sports drinks and grab a nutrient-rich, low-cost chocolate milk after your ride."

When asked about the importance of this partnership, Trenholm raises his bicycle helmet high in the air: "the goals of Dairy Farmers of Canada and the Biking for Breakfast Challenge mirror one another quite nicely: healthy living, nutrition, and grassroots community-based."


About Dairy Farmers of Canada

"The Canadian Community Health Survey that was released in 2006 revealed that too many Canadians of all ages do not consume the 2-4 daily servings of milk products as recommended in Canada's Food Guide. The survey showed that more than one third of children aged 4 to 9 do
not consume two daily servings of milk products. The under-consumption rate climbs as children get older as the same survey showed that 61% of teenage boys and 83% of teenage girls do not consume enough milk products for their age group.

That is why the team of dietitians at Dairy Farmers of Canada is committed to provide to consumers, educators and health professionals accurate up-to-date information on the nutritional benefits of milk and milk products.

DFC's registered dietitians are actively involved in working cooperatively, all year long, with other health professionals and government representatives to ensure that standards, regulations and information designed to promote healthy eating among Canadian consumers accurately reflects the nutritional profile of milk and milk products.

The many essential nutrients found in milk and milk products not only play a role in building and maintaining healthy bones and teeth but they also help in reducing the risk of several diseases and conditions. Milk and milk products may also help in achieving and maintaining a healthy
body weight.

"We feel it is our role to inform Canadians on the many health benefits that come with making milk products part of their day ", says Roy.

More information about Dairy Farmers of Canada can be found at www.dairygoodness.ca

About Biking for Breakfast Challenge

The Biking for Breakfast Challenge is the only road cycling charity event in North America that travels across a complete province in one single day. This event is fully supported on rural country roads, some near traffic-free, alongside some of P.E.I.'s most gently touched landscape, farmer's fields, and always within minutes of one of P.E.I.'s five dozen sandy beaches. Riders can register for the entire tip to tip (278 km) or a various partial courses. The event takes place on the first Saturday in August annually. More information can be found by visiting their website at www.bikingforbreakfast.com