Food Check-Out Week 2009

Food Check-Out Week, February 15-21, involving Farm Bureaus at the county, state and national level, celebrated the abundance and safety of food. This year, in recognition of current economic conditions, the focus was “Stretching Your Food Dollar with Healthy, Nutritious Food.”

The AFB Women's Leadership Committee presented the Ronald McDonald House of Louisville with cash and food donations during Food Check-Out Week. (L to R): Frances Price, committee member from South Carolina; Jana Goemmer, house manager; Terry Gilbert, committee chair; Beth Pool, committee member from New Jersey; Ethel Nash, committee member from West Virginia; and Freida Heath, chair, Kentucky FB Women's Leadership Committee. Click on the photo for a high resolution image. More photos below. News Release: Food Check-Out Week Evolves to Include Nutrition Listen to a Newsline Report featuring Terry Gilbert, a Kentucky farmer and chair of the American Farm Bureau Women's Leadership Committee

Key messages for the program were as follows:

• Farm Bureau is helping consumers find solutions to eating healthy on a stretched budget.
• America’s farmers and ranchers are committed to producing safe, abundant and healthy food.
• Through charitable donations to local Ronald McDonald Houses (and other charities) during Food Check-Out Week, we recognize the need everyone has to find solutions to feeding families healthy foods on a tight budget.

On the national level, the AFB Women’s Leadership Committee piloted supermarket tours for consumers to help them increase their knowledge of how to stay on a budget while purchasing healthy food for their families. The committee made cash and food donations to Ronald McDonald Houses in Phoenix and Louisville.

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Please note: Starting in 2009, the timing of Farm Bureau’s Food Check-Out Week is not related to the date Americans have earned enough money to pay for their food for a year, which is calculated on USDA data that is always a year behind. The third week of February was selected for Food Check-Out Week as a bridge to National Nutrition Month in March.

View Food Check-Out Week promotional materials here.

Many (but not all) county and state Farm Bureaus held events throughout the week. Contact your local or state Farm Bureau to inquire about Food Check-Out Week. Find a Web site for your state Farm Bureau here: http://www.fb.org/state/.

Read the Food Check-Out Week Proclamation

Free one-page nutrition facts sheets:

• Tips for Better Nutrition on a Tight Budget
• Understanding Food Labels
• Understanding What MyPyramid Means
• How Much Should I Eat?

Terry Gilbert, AFB Women's Leadership Committee chair, demonstrates how to cut up a whole chicken during a pilot supermarket tour at ValueMarket in Louisville, Ky., during Food Check-Out Week.	Registered Dietician Cynthia Chandler (L) offers tips on buying fresh produce during a pilot supermarket tour organized by the AFB Women's Leadership Committee.	Margene Harris, AFB Women's Leadership Committee member from New Mexico, talked about the benefits of whole grain foods and served samples to shoppers at a pilot supermarket tour in Phoenix during Food Check-Out Week.
(L to R): Terry Gilbert, AFB Women's Leadership Committee chair; Sherry Saylor, AFB Women's Leadership Committee vice chair; Margene Harris, committee member from New Mexico; Angela Ryden, committee member from Colorado; and Isabella Chism, committee member from Indiana; donated groceries and cash to the Ronald McDonald House of Phoenix. Click on any photo for a high resolution image.