The Iowa Turkey Federation (ITF) will promote the state’s turkey industry at the Iowa State Fair while serving fair attendees at its concession area, The Turkey Grill. The Turkey Grill started in 1983 with the goal of providing a healthy, delicious alterative for fair-goers, and it continues to do so today, 31 years later.
The Turkey Grill will be located east of the Varied Industries Building. The fair is scheduled for August 7-17.
This year’s t-shirt them, “Get Perky, Eat Turkey” is a slogan many turkey farmers remember from a 1974 Salsbury Labs slogan to advertise turkey as a good, economical source of protein for “perky” health.
Iowa turkey facts
ITF members will share facts about turkey and the industry’s economic impact, including:
- Turkey is highly nutritious, low in fat, inexpensive, versatile, and always available.
- Turkey has more protein – 26 grams for a 3-ounce serving of boneless, skinless turkey breast – with fewer calories than other meat and poultry and only one gram of fat and zero grams of saturated fat.
- There are currently more than 130 turkey farms in Iowa, and Iowa ranks 9th in US turkey production.
Since 1983, Iowa has almost doubled its annual turkey production, from 6.5 million turkeys to 11 million turkeys currently. - The economic impact of raising and processing turkeys in Iowa is over $1.5 billion, including 4,220 jobs and over $158.7 million in salaries.
- Iowa’s turkey products can be found at Subway, Jimmy Johns, private label sliced turkey and Jimmy Dean turkey products.
The Turkey Grill’s food offerings
Over the course of the fair, The Turkey Grill will serve 15,150 pounds of turkey legs, 6,000 pounds of turkey tenderloins and 850 pounds of shredded turkey, amounting to more than 11 tons of turkey. All food served will be from Iowa companies, featuring turkey grown at Iowa turkey farms.
The menu items include turkey legs, turkey tenderloins, pulled turkey sandwiches, and griddle sticks, which are turkey sausages covered in pancake batter and served on a stick.
