Last month, the JBS Global Food Innovation Center in Honor of Gary & Kay Smith opened its doors. The USDA-FSIS-inspected facility is a 36,000-square-foot center that is located in the Animal Sciences Building at Colorado State University. The state-of-the-art-facility will be used for teaching and research in meat processing. The $20 million center is also home to Where Food Comes From Market, a retail store where students sell their prepared meat products.
Smith and his late wife, Kay, are the namesakes of the new center in recognition of the work Smith did at Colorado State. Smith began working at CSU in 1990, where he was named Endowed Chair. Through his time at CSU, Smith did intensive research and developed many programs. Smith’s current role at CSU is as a special contributor to the president of CSU, he also teaches annually at the International Livestock Forum.
The JBS Global Food Innovation Center in Honor of Gary & Kay Smith includes a new modern chemistry and microbiology laboratory named for the Bellinger Family and Food Safety Net Services. “Largely because of the contributions made by the Bellinger’s and FSNS, CSU has as good of a microbiology and chemistry laboratory as anyone in the U.S.,” said Smith. The next generation of CSU students will now have the best tools to achieve their goals.
Smith has a long history with John Bellinger and FSNS.”Dr. Gary Smith has been a mentor to me for over 45 years,” said Bellinger. Smith and Bellinger met in 1976, when Smith offered Bellinger a graduate assistantship to complete his Masters of Science and coach the Texas A&M Meat Judging team. Smith also went on to help Bellinger start the Houston Livestock Show Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest, and found FSNS. Smith currently serves on the FSNS Board of Directors.
