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Texas Agriculture Archive

March 3, 2006

Telling Agriculture's Story

County Farm Bureaus celebrate Food Check-Out week...

Just five weeks into 2006, Texas consumers have earned enough disposable income to feed their families for an entire year.

County Farm Bureaus across the state celebrated that affordable food—thanks to the efficiency and productivity of Texas farmers and ranchers—during Food Check-Out Week Jan. 29-Feb. 4.

"It's important that farmers and ranchers tell the story that food in this country is the most affordable in the world," said Texas Farm Bureau Public Relations Director Gene Hall. "Farm Bureaus across the state told this great story to consumers in their local communities in a variety of ways."

Formerly known as Food Check-Out Day, the celebration was expanded to a week this year, and county Farm Bureaus responded in a big way.

"Even in this land of abundance, farmers and ranchers know there are individuals who cannot afford even their basic food needs. That's why Farm Bureau members across the state participated in food drives and donated the proceeds to local charities and individuals," Texas Farm Bureau President Kenneth Dierschke said. "But farmers and ranchers are also proud of their role in making America's food safe and more affordable for all."

The following CFBs participated in Food Check-Out week activities:

Archer—Donated $50 to the Archer Service Center in Archer City.

Atascosa—Coordinated with the local H-E-B and Wal-Mart stores to purchase $125 in groceries from each store, which was donated to the local John Hopkins Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (CAM).

Bandera—The county judge signed a proclamation and Bandera CFB sponsored a canned food drive with the fourth-grade students of three school districts and one parochial school. The class that brought the most items in the two largest schools was honored with a Blue Bell Ice Cream party. The remaining schools also received ice cream and a big thank you. Food was donated to Bandera Helping Hands Food Bank.

Baylor —Donated $100 to the local Meals-On-Wheels program.

Bee—Donated $100 check to Beeville Vineyard, the local food bank.

Bexar—Donated $100 to the San Antonio food bank.

Bosque—Purchased $193.43 worth of groceries for a random shopper at the local Brookshire's grocery.

Bowie—The CFB office made matching donations, totaling $350 worth of hamburger, to the Manna Kitchen in New Boston and to the Randy Sam's Homeless Shelter in Texarkana.

Brazoria—Donated $250 to the Ronald McDonald House in Galveston.

Brazos—$5 coupons were randomly distributed to 30 shoppers at the Appletree market in Bryan and the purpose of the gift and what it represented was explained.

Burnet—Purchased gift cards from the local grocery store and distributed them to area food pantries.

Caldwell—Held a food drive benefiting the Caldwell County Christian Ministries.

Calhoun—Donated $100 to the local food pantry.

Cameron—Two baskets of nonperishable food items and a $200 check were donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Coke-Sterling—Donated $50 to the Coke County Food Pantry.

Colorado—A proclamation was signed and a $100 check was presented to the food pantries of Eagle Lake, Weimar and Columbus.

Cooke—Donations from a food drive were presented to VISTO at the county board meeting.

Dallam-Hartley—Donated proceeds from a week-long food drive at United Supermarket to Good Samaritans of Dalhart. Customers entered a drawing for $150 shopping sprees by donating a minimum of three cans of food and two winners were named. Another food drive was held at a local basketball game and directors collected food at the door. Approximately 2,400 pounds of food was collected and given to the Dalhart Good Samaritans organization.

Dawson—Purchased groceries—matched by two local grocery stores—for the local Senior Citizen Center.

Delta—Donated $100 to the local Human Resource Office's food pantry and supplied much needed canned goods to stock their pantry.

Denton—Presented the Denton Area Food Bank with a $500 check.

DeWitt—Held a "farmers' share" breakfast at McDonald's in Cuero and collected $166.70 in donations and 50 pounds of food. Also collected $206 in donations and 75 pounds of food at the Yorktown Super S Grocery Store. Food and donations were donated to local charities.

Ellis—Held a "farmers' share" breakfast at a local cafe, where the first 50 patrons paid only 19 cents. Some 125 people were served breakfast.

Erath—Erath CFB ran a news release and an invitation to the community to contribute to a food drive for the local food pantries in all local newspapers and publications. Food items were dropped off and displayed at the Erath CFB office, along with Food Check-Out Week brochures.

Fannin—County leaders grilled 500 Fannin-grown beef patties on the front lawn of the county courthouse to benefit a local charity. The hearty "farm-fresh" lunches were sold for 37 cents each.

Fayette—Area food pantries, including Celebration House in Flatonia, Schulenburg Area Food Pantry and Amen Food Pantry in La Grange, benefited from contributions from Fayette CFB and collections from Flatonia and Swiss Alp citizens.

Fort Bend—Donated groceries to Fort Bend County Helping Hands.

Frio—Worked with the local H-E-B grocery store on a matching grant. Frio CFB donated $250 worth of groceries, allowing Frio Friends and Family in Pearsall to receive a total donation of $500 worth of groceries.

Goliad—Handed out two $25 Super S Foods gift certificates to customers purchasing beef.

Gonzales—Forty barbecue brisket plates were donated to the local Meals-on-Wheels program. A $50 donation was presented to Gonzales Christian Assistance Ministries.

Gregg—Donated $200 worth of hamburger to the Highway 80 Rescue Mission in Longview.

Guadalupe—Held a "farmers' share" lunch and sold 250 hamburgers and chips for 37 cents each in the Plaza Del Rey shopping center in Seguin.

Hamilton—Purchased $50 in groceries for two customers at the local grocery store. Donations totaling $261 were collected and donated to the volunteer fire department.

Houston—Hosted a luncheon with local media in attendance, including a news crew from KTRE in Lufkin, a reporter from the Grapeland paper and a reporter from the Crockett radio station.

Hunt—Donated $200 to FISH shared ministries in Hunt County.

Jack—Presented $200 in groceries to the Clothes Closet's food pantry.

Jackson—The county judge signed a proclamation for Food Check-Out Week and Jackson CFB donated $150 to Helping Hands.

Jones—Presented a check for $300 to Agency on Aging.

Lamar—Donated $425 in canned foods to the Lamar County Meals-On-Wheels program.

Lamb—Purchased $100 worth of groceries at both the Lowes Market and the United Super Market. Both stores matched Lamb CFB's donation, totaling $400 in groceries donated to the Lamb County Food Bank.

Lampasas—Held a "farmers' share" breakfast for the price of 37 cents in correlation with the Lampasas Historical Committee to celebrate Food Check-Out Week and the 150-year anniversary of Lampasas County. Collections totaled $130.29, which was donated to a charitable organization.

Lavaca—Donated $100 to the Hallettsville Manna Food Pantry. Manna is able to multiply food by the pound by purchasing food from the Victoria Community Food Bank. Lavaca CFB's $100 donation translates to $1,000 worth of food for the community.

Llano—Proclamation by County Judge R. J. Floyd. Students of Packsaddle Elementary conducted a canned food drive for the week. A total of 775 items were collected and two classes tied for first place for the most food collected. A cake and ice cream party was given by the Llano CFB to the winning classes. The food items were donated to the Sharing the Harvest Food Pantry in Kingsland. Food containers were placed in Super S Grocery Store, the Miller Smokehouse, the Mercantile of Llano, and the Llano CFB office. Collected items were donated to the Llano Food Pantry.

Matagorda—Donated a check to the local branch of the Salvation Army.

McLennan—Purchased $407 worth of groceries for four families at a local H-E-B. A donation was also made to the Ronald McDonald House in Temple.

Medina—Medina CFB donated $300 to the Medina County Food Pantry.

Mills—A donation was made to Evangelism Food Pantry.

Montague—Donated $150 worth of groceries to the Bowie Mission.

Montgomery—Donated $1,000 to the Montgomery County Food Bank.

Navarro—Donated $300 to the Navarro County Food Pantry.

Nueces—Collected canned goods at the Ag Field Day, which was taken to the Ronald McDonald House in Corpus Christi.

Palo Pinto—The county judge signed a proclamation. The local radio station announced a coupon giveaway at the local Brookshire Supermarket, Metro Market and the new Super Wal-Mart. County board members gave away 100 coupons for a $3 discount on the grocery bill. Each coupon was supported with information about Food Check-Out Week, and posters were displayed at each location.

Parmer—Sponsored a food drive with Friona Elementary third-grade class. A total of 640 pounds of food was donated to the local food bank.

Polk—Donated $50 to the Polk County Mission Center.

Red River—Donated $25 each to four local food banks.

Robertson—Purchased groceries for two customers at stores in Hearne.

Runnels—Donated $50 to three local food banks—Ballinger Food Bank, Miles Ministerial Alliance and Winters Food Bank.

Sabine—Donated $100 to the Sabine County United Christian Services.

San Augustine—Donated $100 to the local food bank, Care and Share.

San Patricio—Proclamation signed by the Honorable Terry Simpson. A John Deere crawler tractor, Mobile Learning Barn trailer, San Patricio CFB banner and a Food Check-Out Week sign were placed in front of the Portland Wal-Mart. County leaders conducted a food drive. Collections of $400 in groceries and $115 were given to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Food Pantry. Later in the afternoon, Ronald McDonald, with the help of CFB leaders, greeted customers at the Ronald McDonald shop inside Wal-Mart. Groceries were purchased at the Portland H-E-B store for a shopper who was chosen at random. The Portland H-E-B store presented their check for $500 to San Patricio CFB, which was given to the Ronald McDonald House of Corpus Christi.

San Saba—Ran a news story in the local newspaper.

Smith—Gave $200 to the local PATH organization.

Terry—Coordinated to have United Supermarkets match Terry CFB's donation of $154.42 in groceries. The donation was given to Ardeth Swain Food Box.

Titus—Titus CFB and its board members joined with Herschel's Restaurant for a "farmers' share" lunch, and sold hamburgers for 57 cents, cheeseburgers for 63 cents and chicken sandwiches at 79 cents to the first 200 restaurant customers. Titus CFB paid the difference on the prices.

Tom Green—Donated $100 to the Concho Valley Regional Food Bank.

Trinity—Held a barbeque "farmers' share" lunch. $100 in proceeds were donated to the Groveton Ladies in Action.

Upshur—Donated $150 to the food bank in Gilmer.

Van Zandt—Donated $100 to the Van Zandt County Christian Benevolence Fund.

Waller—Donated $150 to the Waller Food Pantry and $150 to the Brookshire Food Pantry.

Washington—Handed out Food Check-Out brochures at Brookshire Brothers, a local grocery store. Groceries totaling $49.98 were purchased for a random shopper.

Wise—Sponsored a week-long food drive with the second grade classes of area schools. Food was donated to the local food bank.

Zavala—Donated $50 to Zavala County Winter Garden Women's Shelter.

Texas Farm Bureau—Employees in Waco sponsored a Salsa Contest and a food drive. Over $550, along with an estimated 1,500 pounds of food, were donated to the Ronald McDonald House in Temple.