For sheep producers, Easter is an important time of year because it’s traditionally when a lot of delicious American lamb is bought and consumed.
Gwendolyn Kitzan is the American Lamb Board’s chairman from Nisland, South Dakota and says despite these challenging times, our farmers and ranchers, retailers, and butcher shops are working hard to have lamb stocked in the meat case for your Easter and Passover meals.
“It certainly is. And traditionally lamb is the protein to eat at Easter time,” said Kitzan. “And of course, you know, the world has changed drastically in the last two to three weeks. But American lamb can still be on your table for Easter. So, you can share that with your family and friends.”
She says recent data shows, lamb sales are actually up during this COVID-19 national emergency.
“Even though the fine restaurants are not open right now lamb sales have increased over by 54 percent in the last two weeks,” said Kitzan. “And that’s because everybody is discovering they can make lamb at home and share it with their family.”
She says even though it’s a busy time of the year, sheep producers like her remain committed to providing consumers American lamb at the meat case.
“Everybody's out there in the lambing barn,” said Kitzan. “They're going forward. They're not stopping so they provide clean and safe food for America. At the same time, the American Lamb Board is working closely with the American Sheep Industry and the National Lamb Feeders. They're talking to all the food chains out there to see what can we do and how can we work together to work our way through this crisis.”
For delicious lamb recipes for Easter or anytime, visit www.americanlamb.com.
