Everyone is welcome, but please RSVP to Kathy Hadley: kathyfree17@aol.com
or 503.559.5901.

As they have done for the past decade and a half, farmer and rancher members of many local Farm Bureaus will reach out to consumers in their communities during Food Check-Out Week (Feb. 19-25 this year). The official theme of the week is “Stretching Your Grocery Dollar With Healthy, Nutritious Food.” The theme reflects the continuing reality that many Americans are feeling an economic squeeze and as a result, eat out less often and prepare more meals at home.

Offering practical information and tips on how to put nutritious meals on the table with fewer dollars is just one aspect of Food Check-Out Week. Many participating farmers and ranchers also are committed to responding to broader questions consumers may have about food—how it is grown or raised and long-term effects on people’s health and the planet.

On Monday, February 20, Oregon Farm Bureau members will donate hundreds of dollars worth of nutritious food to Portland Ronald McDonald House Charities in recognition of Food Check-Out Week.  Through charitable donations to local Ronald McDonald Houses during Food Check-Out Week, farmers and ranchers recognize the need everyone has to find solutions to feeding families healthy foods on a tight budget.

For many ag producers, this stepped-up interest in conversations about food, whether through community outreach, in-person conversations, or social media interaction with consumers, was sparked by The Food Dialogues, a new effort to bring together different viewpoints on farming and ranching, and the future of food.

The Food Dialogues is an initiative of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, a coalition of farmers, ranchers and their industry partners, committed to continuously improving how they grow and raise food that provides healthy choices for people everywhere. USFRA strives to bring together different viewpoints on farming and ranching and the future of food to solve today’s most challenging problems.

“For too long, farmers and ranchers have not had a voice in conversations about where food in America comes from,” said Roberta Valladao, a rancher from Bly, Oregon and chair of the Oregon Farm Bureau Women’s Advisory Council. “Now more than ever before, both during special observances such as Food Check-Out Week and as they go about their day-to-day routines, farmers are committed to participating in conversations with consumers, to answer the questions they have about food,” she said.

Although the way farmers talk about food with consumers is evolving, the Farm Bureau – Ronald McDonald House Charities connection that was initiated when Food Check-Out Week first began remains strong.

Many county and state Farm Bureaus from around the country also will make food donations to Ronald McDonald Houses or other charities during Food Check-Out Week. Ronald McDonald Houses provide a “home-away-from-home” for families of seriously ill children receiving medical treatment.

On the national level, the AFB Women’s Leadership Committee will make cash and food donations to the Ronald McDonald House of Central Indiana this year. The third week of February was selected for Food Check-Out Week as a bridge to National Nutrition Month in March.

Photo credit: Barb Iverson, Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm

November 1, 2011

Oregon Farm Bureau welcomes you to its newly designed website at oregonfb.org!

What you can do on oregonfb.org:

• Find farm-fresh food close to you with Oregon’s Bounty online.
• Learn about Farm Bureau’s membership benefit programs.
• Play interactive ag games and learn ag trivia.
• Learn about Farm Bureau’s many programs that support family farmers and ranchers.
• Watch Farm Bureau videos.
• Get the latest Farm Bureau news.
• Find out about upcoming Farm Bureau events.
• Follow Farm Bureau on Facebook and Twitter.
• Become a Farm Bureau member.
• Renew your existing Farm Bureau membership.
• And more!

(A new password-protected website geared toward existing Farm Bureau members will debut in 2012.)

The section will feature regular news about Farm Bureau’s advocacy work, its family farm and ranch members, ag issues, trends, and much more.

We hope you will find oregonfb.org engaging, inspiring, useful, and fun.

Photo credit: Barb Iverson, Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm

Sincerely, Anne Marie Moss, OFB Communications Director

Leave a comment and let us know what you think of the new look!