CCFB News» March 2025

Together with various partners, Cook County Farm Bureau® donated much needed food staples to two Cook County food pantries. Donations were raised in celebration of Food Checkout Day. Food Checkout Day celebrates the healthy and nutritious food local farmers grow and raise by providing food or cash donations to people in need.

Nearly $5,000 was donated to local Cook County pantries in celebration of Food Checkout Day this year and the healthy and nutritious food grown and raised by local farmers. The donations directly benefited the one in seven individuals in Cook County who are hungry.

In addition to traditional food donations, Cook County Farm Bureau’s Young Leader Committee hosted their first hygiene product drive. Members and leaders donated personal care items including toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, deodorant, and lotion.

Partner food pantries, Hattie B. Williams Food Pantry of Oak Forest and Maine Township Food Pantry of Park Ridge received non-perishable food items and personal hygiene products as part of Food Checkout Day 2025.

During February and March, I am participating in Illinois Farm Bureau’s 2025 Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow (ALOT) leadership program.

Raised non-perishable food and hygiene products for Cook County families in need during this year’s Food Checkout Day and Young Leader Hygiene Drive.

The Cook County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, during their February board meeting, approved Areas of Focus and actions from the January board strategic planning day with a three-year time horizon. Specific attention was paid towards the voting member and the associate member value proposition for retention and recruitment.

How many times have you thought, “I just wish an elected official’s name term would end.” Believe it or not, 19 states including Illinois have recall provisions. Recall is a process by which voters can remove and replace an elected official before their term ends.

The Cook County Farm Bureau is an amazing value. At just $20 annually for Associate Members and only $45 for Voting Members, is it really a difficult decision?

Cook County Farm Bureau Foundation’s Outstanding in Their Field Ag Student of the Month for March is Samauri Green, Michelle Obama School of Technology and the Arts.

We paused harvest to host our daughter’s sixth birthday party at Norman North, a field along a winding gravel road. The dusty path contains just two houses and a hill you wouldn’t want to attempt in slick conditions.

Founded in 1951, IAA Credit Union (IAACU) was established to serve the Illinois Farm Bureau and its affiliated organizations, including GROWMARK and COUNTRY Financial.

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.

Black Walnut Pinwheel Cookies
Sherryanne de la Boise, Northfield

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