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by Annie Cunningham and Lynn Snyder

The annual celebration of Food Check-Out Day was held by the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) and many county Farm Bureaus across the state.

Food Check-Out Day commemorates the calendar day when the average American family has earned enough income to pay for the entire year’s food supply. This year that day was Feb. 6 – just 37 days into the year. Food Check-Out Day is calculated using United States Department of Agriculture statistics. Americans spend on average just 10 percent of their disposable personal income for food.

OFBF, along with Montgomery County Farm Bureau, Ohio Grocers Association and Meijer personnel, presented an entertaining media event at a Meijer store in Dayton. Connie Cahill, food consultant, emceed the event. The Ohio Poultry and Certified Angus Beef associations had in-store displays and the Ohio Soybean and Ohio Dairy associations donated giveaways for the event. Dayton radio station K99.1 was on site interviewing OFBF officials and Tom Jackson of the Ohio Grocers Association. The station also aired Food Check-Out Day ads prior to the Dayton event.

Terry McClure, OFBF president, told store visitors how farmers provide affordable food and why that benefits consumers. Connie Cahill interviewed Jack Fisher, OFBF executive vice president, and Jackson during a cooking demonstration. The trio made a poultry stir-fry from prepackaged foods – demonstrating how producers meet the needs of consumers today. Fisher said Food Check-Out Day is a good example of how farmers are trying to create a partnership with consumers. Jackson and Fisher also talked about how the food industry has changed over the years focusing on convenience, food safety and healthy and functional foods.

OFBF presented 37 bags of groceries, representing the 37 days in which it takes the average American family to pay for his food supply for the year, to the Children’s Hunger Alliance. The groceries were distributed to Children’s Hunger Alliance programs in Montgomery and Clark counties.

The event in Dayton also included a drawing for a $500 Meijer gift certificate. Craig Gaskill, manager of Meijer, presented the gift certificate to the winner Terina Casanna of Huber Heights.

Other county Farm Bureaus across the state organized events to celebrate Food Check-Out Day. Cuyahoga County Farm Bureau organized in-store events with Dave's Supermarket, a local grocery chain in the Cleveland area. From 10 a.m. to noon, county volunteers were on hand to distribute Food Check-Out Day fliers to customers as they entered the store. The fliers contained a coupon for $1 off the purchase of fresh produce, a free dozen large eggs or one free loaf of Dave's In-Store bakery bread. As customers checked out, they could donate canned food items that were given to the Children's Hunger Alliance Cleveland office. The county Farm Bureau purchased the first 37 items, and a total of 75 were collected.

Two lucky shoppers won $25 gift certificates for locating the "Mystery Shopper," Cuyahoga member Dave Peth. Two other shoppers won $50 in free groceries; they were chosen randomly. At the end of Food Check-Out Day, a drawing was held at all six Dave's Supermarket locations for $100 in groceries.

Gerald Wilson is the county Promotion and Education chairman. "It's good to promote in the city of Cleveland. There are not that many farmers in Cuyahoga County," he said. "The whole (Farm Bureau) board bends over backward to do stuff like this, and a lot of the creativity comes from Anita (Cook, organization director)."

"All of the Dave’s Supermarket employees were so helpful and accommodating; their efforts really helped to make this program a great success," Cook said. "And it was a wonderful opportunity for Farm Bureau volunteers to share the message with Dave’s customers that farmers provide safe, affordable food."

Mystery Shopper winners were Virginia Robinson and Dee Marquez; Random shopper winners were Jacqueline Love and C.W. Lewis. Winners in the $100 drawing were Deborah Thoenton; Joan Dlugolinski; Chris Miheli; Dashea Thornton; Johnetta Kizer and Ellie Sullivan.

In the weeks prior to Food Check-Out Day, there were many efforts taken to raise awareness of the event. Farm Bureau, Nationwide Sponsor Relations and the Heritage Team hosted a Food Check-Out Day display Feb. 3, in Nationwide’s Plaza 1 cafeteria, and Feb. 4, in the Plaza 3 cafeteria at the company’s Columbus headquarters. A $100 Kroger gift certificate was awarded to the winner Janice Puckett, a Nationwide employee.

There were more than 70 Food Check-Out Day billboards placed across the state. Radio and television commercials were aired on WEWS, Cuyahoga County; WCMH, Franklin County; WHIO, Montgomery County; WTOL, Lucas County; WKRC, Hamilton County; WMFD, Richland County; and WYTV, WKBN and WFMJ, Mahoning County.