Efrain Valenzuela is the Mobile Dairy Classroom Program Director. He oversees a diverse team of agricultural experts located throughout the Golden State who visit elementary schools, agricultural and community events and local fairs. Bringing the farm to students and their families through experiential learning, Efrain and his team teach the journey of food, how to eat healthfully and the importance of healthy eating patterns.

When he is not managing his team or facilitating lessons, Efrain spends his time enhancing Mobile Dairy Classroom’s food literacy program, which includes developing short- and long-term goals, exploring new opportunities to engage and educate students, establishing measurable educational objectives and sourcing the tools needed to implement the nutrition education program.

Efrain has an agricultural background, which drives his passion for teaching students how to make the food literacy connection, introducing them to a real cow and providing a hands-on experience that will stay with them for a lifetime. For the past 25 years, Efrain has taught children how to eat healthfully using the food groups as a guide and revealing the many products that come from the farm, including milk and dairy, the foods made from single products such as milk, and the journey of food from the farm to school and home.

Under Efrain's guidance, the Mobile Dairy Classroom educates over 450,000 students and families in California each year.

Efrain earned a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He is also bilingual, fluent in both English and Spanish. 

Efrain can be reached at evalenzuela@dairycouncilofca.org.

People learn better through experience. By providing a hands-on experience to teach children where our food comes from, the importance of eating wholesome foods and how to eat healthfully, we can encourage and empower them to make healthy food choices.