CCFB News» February 2020

Join the Evergreen Park library and the Cook County Farm Bureau® for an interactive evening of exploring the path food takes from farm field to dinner plate and the obstacles in between. Participants will discuss, food labels, food banks, and food choices locally and internationally.

The Will-South Cook Soil & Water Conservation District is currently taking orders for the spring Tree and Fish Sale. Order forms are available on the District Website (www.will-scookswcd.org) and can be picked up at eh Will-South Cook Soil and Water Conservation District office during business hours. U.S. Mail, email and fax copies can be requested by calling 815-462-3106 x3 ask for Kim Mitchell.

With proper preparation, we can help make sure you pass your family farm from one generation to the next.

Cook County Farm Bureau® works hard to be a leader on legislative and regulatory issues that impact members. In January, Farm Bureau members received a ‘SNAP’ Viewpoint Survey to gather members’ thoughts on lawmakers’ salaries and ethics.

Cook County Farm Bureau offers both members and non-members an opportunity to test their garden or lawn soil by purchasing a soil testing kit.

Our Community Urban Grant Program is looking to award six gardens in 2020...and we increased the award amount to $350! Applications are now available. All community-based urban gardens in Cook County are encouraged to apply.

The Chief County Assessment Officer (CCAO), or supervisor of assessments, is responsible for assessing the value of all real property within their jurisdiction for the purpose of real estate taxation. The assessment process plays an important role in local government. Equitable assessments assure property owners are paying their fair share of the costs of operating schools, providing police and fire protection, road construction and maintenance, and other basic public services.

Cook County Farm Bureau® farmer and professional members as well as FB ACT members are encouraged to join Farm Bureau staff for an overview and discussion of Farm Bureau’s 2020 state priorities. These issues will guide the Farm Bureau’s state legislative agenda and will occupy much of Farm Bureau’s legislative time in 2020.

The Cook County Farm Bureau Foundation is offering grants up to $400 each to Kindergarten through 12th teachers to fund projects that promote agricultural literacy in the classroom. Grants can be used for classroom lessons on the topics of soil, plants, water, horticulture or environmental science. Applicants using Earth Day as a theme will be given special consideration due to the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

Southland Veterans come join us for this interactive town hall meeting where you will have the opportunity to hear from VA's office of Community Care, IDVA and Hines VA leadership on topics such as the new VA's Mission Act. There will be the opportunity to ask questions and share your concerns.To RSVP and for more information, contact George Sanon at [email protected].

Americans Big on Snacks, New Flavor Combinations (FarmWeekNow) A new survey, conducted by One Poll on behalf of Moonstruck Chocolate, estimates Americans spend about $9.22 per week on snacks, totaling $479.44 a year, according to an article by ConfectionaryNews.com. That means average Americans spend more than $30,000 on snacks during their lifetime, opening opportunities for food developers. So much do Americans love snacks that 18% claimed they would ditch all their electronic devices for a lifetime supply of snacks. A sixth of Americans claimed they would shave their heads for a lifetime chocolate supply. The survey surfaced interest in different flavor combinations, including strawberry and balsamic vinegar, chocolate and pizza, as well as bacon and vinegar.

Each month we are highlighting a Cook County Farm Bureau Member: This month's "Face of CCFB" is... Pete & Beth Kennedy, owner's of Stanley Luke Farm.

During a recent meeting, Farm Bureau leaders established the following as the 2020 state legislative priorities.

For the past 19 years, Cook County Farm Bureau® has partnered with Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. Through the generosity of partners Farm Bureau has donated over $145,000 and nearly 100,000 pounds of food.

Earlier this year my farmer and I packed up our blue-eyed girl and our big, little boy and hit the road for our first family road trip. I had imagined car games and seeing random license plates. We did see some pretty distant licenses plates but there were no car games and no singing.

Regular decision, early action, early decision, rolling admissions, and the list goes on. Many students and parents are currently receiving and awaiting decisions on college applications.

The Cook County Farm Bureau Foundation has opened the 22nd Annual “Farm and Food” Agricultural Scholarship Program. The Cook County Farm Bureau Foundation is offering college students the opportunity to start or continue his/her higher education with a scholarship. Last year, the Foundation provided eight scholarships ranging from $1,000-$3,000 each.

Recipe reprinted with permission from member Smits Farms of Sauk Village, from our 2019 Cookfresh Recipe Collection Brochure, available online at www.cookcfb.org/discover-local/recipes.

The promise of blue eggs from a chirping cardboard box helps beat the winter blahs at our house this season. Oh, how some tales from our household could form a nonsensical storybook. Yet, even Dr. Seuss didn’t put this color of egg into rhymes nor did he illustrate the century-old tradition of chicken delivery via the U.S. Postal Service, America’s exclusive shipper of live chicks.

Who remembers the Mastercard credit card “Priceless” marketing campaign “there are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s MasterCard”? The commercial identified various items or experiences that the credit card could purchase but ultimately, the card brought you something you could not buy…that once in a life-time moment, that rare connection, the ideal (tears in your eyes) conversation. I was shocked to see that the campaign started in 1997!