Food Check-Out Week

Food Check-Out Week. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

The economic downturn has forced families from coast to coast to try to stretch their food dollar. You can find all kinds of ideas and information on how to stretch that food dollar and Farm Bureaus throughout the country will try to help people do that during Food Check-Out Week. 

GILBERT: While we still feel like we as America’s farmers and ranchers provide safe, abundant, affordable food, we also realize that with the economic times that we have right now that people are looking for ways to stretch their grocery budgets.

Terry Gilbert is a Kentucky farmer and chair of the American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee.  Committee members will be celebrating Food Check-Out Week now through Saturday the 21^st by offering consumer information about making the most of that food budget.

GILBERT: I think in these economic times there’s going to be a lot more people that are going to be eating out less, so there’s going to be more people cooking and eating at home.  We want to help give them the tools to let them provide nutritious meals for their family and also stay within their tighter budgets. 

Gilbert says food check-out week also celebrates the efficiency and dedication of the nation’s farmers and ranchers.

GILBERT: I hope the public takes away the fact that that we, as the farmers and ranchers of America, work hard to produce safe, affordable, abundant food, but we also want them to know they can also stretch their grocery dollars and still provide good meals for their families. 

Gilbert explains the purpose of food check-out week.

GILBERT: Food check-out week is the week that American Farm Bureau celebrates the efficiency and the dedication of our American farmers and ranchers. We have a little bit of a new focus this year, in that we want to help people keep to a budget while providing nutritious foods for their families. 

Gilbert talks about changes to the Food Check-Out Week program.

GILBERT: We do have new materials available that talk about “how much should I eat?  What are the right proportions?” nutritional information, information about the food pyramid.  We’re also going to test pilot grocery store tours with consumers and help them go through the grocery store and recognize good bargains they can use to put nutritious meals on their families’ tables and we’re excited about that. 

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.