Gourmet News

KC Chief Travis Kelce, Hy-Vee Team Up for Kelce’s Krunch

Published August 16, 2022

Hy-Vee, Inc. has released an exclusive new cereal, Kelce’s Krunch, created in partnership with Travis Kelce and the 87 & Running Foundation that began appearing on store shelves in the Kansas City area beginning Aug 13.

Kelce’s Krunch will be available in select Hy-Vee stores throughout the Kansas City area and only for a limited time while supplies last.

This limited-edition collector’s product is expected to raise $18,500 for the 87 & Running Foundation. The Foundation helps underserved youth strive to become productive citizens by mentoring and motivating them to explore and develop their abilities while learning critical life skills.

“Travis Kelce is a true inspiration both on and off the field,” said Matt Nickell, vice president, sports marketing for Hy-Vee. “His dedication to not only his team but also the Kansas City community is why we are excited to partner with him and the 87 & Running Foundation to launch this new cereal, while providing much-needed support for Kansas City-area youth.”

“As a kid, I grew up looking at my favorite athletes on cereal boxes, so now to have my own in collaboration with Hy-Vee is exciting! With each box of Kelce’s Krunch sold, a donation will be made to my foundation 87 & Running serving the youth in Kansas City,” said Travis Kelce, tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. “Hy-Vee is an incredible partner, and I am looking forward to bringing more impactful community initiatives to life with them. Let’s go Chiefs Kingdom!”

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Novel Farms Reveals First Marbled Cultivated Pork Loin

Published August 10, 2022

Novel Farms, Inc., a food technology startup based in Berkeley, Calif., has unveiled what it says is the first-ever marbled cultivated pork loin.

Cultivated meat is poised to help relieve the strain on our food system by providing a supply of animal protein while offering human health, environmental, and animal welfare benefitsm, according to the company.

While the vast majority of cultivated meat companies focus on making sausages or burgers, producing meat that mimics conventional meat cuts is currently extremely difficult — only a handful of companies in the world have been able to showcase pork or beef structured prototypes. Novel Farms now joins this select group by creating a cultivated pork loin that displays the marbling and texture of a real muscle cut.

Novel Farms solves the structuring problem by developing a proprietary microbial fermentation approach to produce low-cost, edible, and highly customizable scaffolds. Its tissue development platform gives an important and unique advantage by not only providing the company with the capability to structure meat from any animal species, but also doing it in a very cost-effective way.

While scaffolding biomaterials such as alginate need to undergo costly functionalization to ensure effective cell attachment, their scaffolding process completely bypasses this step, reducing production costs by 99.27 percent and thus accelerating the path to the commercialization of their products at price parity, accoring to the company.

The founder team, Nieves Martinez Marshall and Michelle Lu, met while working as postdoctoral scientists in the Molecular and Cell Biology department at the University of California at Berkeley prior to launching the company in 2020. Their combined experience of over 30 years in research was key in the ideation of an elegant and unique structuring approach for producing cultivated meat, which has been awarded a highly competitive grant from the National Science Foundation through the SmallBusiness Innovation Research (SBIR) Program (phase I) in 2021.

“Our goal is to accelerate the widespread adoption of cultivated meat and its benefits by producing ‘hard-to-resist’ whole muscle cuts,” said Marshall. “Therefore, we need to be able to fulfill consumer demand by delivering cultivated meat with the same fibrous texture and mouthfeel as conventional cuts from an animal.”

Novel Farms has raised $1.4 million in a pre-seed round with participation of Big Idea Ventures Joyance, Social Starts, Sustainable Food Ventures, Good Startup, CULT foods and strategic angel investors.

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Giant Food Sets $2M Goal for Pediatric Cancer Fundraising

Published August 10, 2022

Giant Food launched its 18^th annual fundraising program in support of pediatric cancer research initiatives during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Giant has set a goal to raise at least $2 million over the eight-week program, running from Aug. 12 to Oct. 13, from the sale of $5 coupon books valued at over $45 each. All funds raised will be donated to Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and The Children’s Cancer Foundation, Inc. to support their ongoing cancer research.

Since the program’s initial launch in 2005, Giant Food has raised more than $27.9 million for pediatric cancer research. Throughout the campaign, Giant customers can participate by purchasing a coupon book at their local Giant store. Giant Delivers and Pickup customers can also participate and will have the option to make a donation of $1, $3 or $5 during online checkout.

“This campaign has been so successful year after year thanks to the help of our amazing customers and store associates and we are thrilled to join together once again with our communities to lend our continued support to Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and The Children’s Cancer Foundation,” said Ira Kress, president of Giant Food. “We are proud to be able to raise awareness and funds through this campaign to support the critical research of these two local organizations and their exceptional work treating and helping to eradicate childhood cancer.”

This year, three young local cancer fighters serve as Giant Food Pediatric Cancer ambassadors. These children, along with many others like them, have faced numerous challenges, but the treatments they have received from this program’s support have helped them to lead healthier and happier lives.

Eight-year-old Hannah Bean was diagnosed with Stage 4 Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma at the age of six. Hannah likes hanging with her two older brothers and playing ice hockey, singing, and dancing, but her favorite activities are painting and drawing. If Hannah could have any superpower, she would want the ability to cure every disease so nobody would have to get treatment.
Four-year-old Christopher Milecki was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive Leukemia at just 17 months. Christopher’s favorite activity is to play Minecraft and scooter outside. He loves eating McDonalds and Starbucks’ ‘white chocolate mocha’. His favorite superhero is Spider-Man and if he could have any superpower, it would be super strength.
13-year-old Jade Farmer was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia at the age of 10. She loves to listen to music and artists like Avril Lavigne, Blink 182, and Simple Plan are favorites. Jade also enjoys playing outside and trying new things. Her favorite superhero is Deadpool and if she could have any superpower, it would be to make all illness disappear.

“CCF remains grateful for the loyal and generous support of Giant Food,” expressed CCF President Tasha Museles. “Its commitment means that advances will be made in finding cures, ensuring that kids like Christopher, Hannah and Jade will not only beat cancer, but live healthy lives without struggling with side effects from treatment. Giant Food continues to lead by example.”

“The tremendous generosity of Giant Food and their surrounding communities, through their annual Childhood Cancer Campaign, provides vital funding for physician scientists to advance research initiatives leading to innovative care and personalized therapies for kids with cancer, as well as a platform to highlight the bravery and tenacity of our young patients as they navigate this difficult disease,” said Donald Small, M.D., Ph.D., director of pediatric oncology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

“On behalf of all of us within the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center’s Division of Pediatric Oncology, we are truly grateful for our partnership with Giant Food, which continues to make a difference in the lives of our patients today, tomorrow, and in the future.”

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