By Melanie Jackson, FAPC Communications Graduate Assistant

(Stillwater, Okla. – May 3, 2017) Oklahoma State University’s Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center is celebrating 20 years of adding value to Oklahoma with a documentary set to air on OETA in May.

The documentary, “20 Years of Made in Oklahoma Food Innovation,” highlights how FAPC was started, the impact the center has on Oklahoma and the food industry, and three Made in Oklahoma companies FAPC has assisted: Suan’s Foods, Ace in the Bowl Salsa and Diane’s Signature Products.

“The Food & Agricultural Products Center was launched with a tremendous vision of helping value added food and agricultural companies across the state, but no one had an idea of how it would actually flesh out,” said Roy Escoubas, FAPC director.

FAPC, a part of OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, is celebrating its 20-year anniversary in 2017. Since its inception in January 1997, the center’s research laboratories, pilot-processing facilities, educational programs and seminars have kept food and agricultural processors and entrepreneurs on the forefront of cutting-edge value-added processing and technology.

“It’s a little bit of a hidden secret here in the state of Oklahoma that people just don’t know about,” said Rodger Kerr, son of Robert M. Kerr, who the center is named after.

Produced by The Oklahoman and DASNR’s SUNUP TV show, the purpose of the documentary is to not only celebrate FAPC’s 20-year anniversary, but also make Oklahomans more aware of what the center has to offer.

“It’s exciting to see the opportunities that we’re trying to help further my dad’s idea of helping businesses and industry grow in the state of Oklahoma,” Kerr said. “I’m excited about the future of the center, too.”

The documentary will premiere on OETA May 11 at 7 p.m. In addition, the documentary also will air May 18 at 7:30 p.m. and May 28 at 11:30 a.m.

“As an OSU graduate, I’m very excited about this latest project from the Food & Agricultural Products Center,” said Mark Norman, OETA’s interim executive director. “OSU and OETA have worked closely together for decades—at least 43 years. We’re always excited when local producers come with content that reinforces OETA’s mission to educate, inform and inspire the citizens of Oklahoma.”

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Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant university that prepares students for success. OSU has more than 36,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 25,000 on its combined Stillwater and Tulsa campuses, with students from all 50 states and around 120 nations. Established in 1890, Oklahoma State has graduated more than 260,000 students who have been serving Oklahoma and the world for 125 years.