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Grocery giveaway puts local farming in the spotlight

It’s the in thing nowadays to know more about where your food comes from (other than the supermarket).

And there is much criticism of the way food is produced in the United States, on a variety of fronts. Too much farming controlled by big corporations, some say; too little food in our food; too much reliance on petrochemical fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides; too much fuel being used to transport products around the country.

The Illinois Farm Bureau and Illinois Farm Families are reminding people that there are real people still involved in putting dinner on our plates, with a sweepstakes featuring five farmers.

Three of the five are from Kane County.

“Free Groceries for a Year!” started last week and ends Oct. 2 at farmersfeedus.org. The prize is valued at about $5,000, using data from the Food Marketing Institute.

Other prizes include a stay at a bed and breakfast and a Family Harvest Day package to visit a farm.

Contestants enter by watching a short video about each of the farmers and answering a trivia question.

The five people featured in the videos are:

Ÿ Lynn Martz, who helps run a finishing beef feedlot in Maple Park;

Ÿ Steven Ruh, who grows corn and soybeans in Sugar Grove;

Ÿ Linda Drendel, from Drendel Farm dairy farm in Hampshire;

Ÿ Brent Scholl, hog farmer from Polo; and

Ÿ Deb Moore, from a Roseville soybean farm.

The families weren’t just picked willy-nilly. Mike Martz is a beef checkoff director for District 3 of the Illinois Beef Association, Dale Drendel is a former president of the Illinois Holstein Association, Ron Moore is an at-large director of the Illinois Soybean Association, Brent Scholl is immediate past president of the Illinois Pork Producers and Ruh is a former president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association.

All are checkoff organizations that collect money from members to promote their particular commodities. Think “Beef — It’s What for Dinner” and “Pork: The Other White Meat.”

The campaign is also funded in part by the Illinois Farm Bureau.

“As Illinois farmers, we’re thrilled to offer free groceries for a year to the consumers of our great state,” Deb Moore said in a prepared statement. “This is an opportunity for Illinois Farm Families to show Illinois consumers how we grow their food, and to let them know we share their values — taking care of our families, taking care of our animals and land and giving back to our communities.”

Ruh points out in his video he has two young daughters and a son, and that he hopes they will return to the farm, as he did. “I think it is a great time to have your kids out on the farm. It is great to have this open space and the freedom to just run around on the grass playing soccer on the front lawn or even swinging on a tire swing,” he said.

Linda Drendel spoke philosophically about milking the cows: “We don’t take milk from the cow; we let her give her milk to us,” she says in the video.

The five are featured in television and radio advertising, and on Facebook (facebook.com/ilfarmfamilies) and Twitter (@ilfarmfamilies).

It is one of several efforts to bring consumers and farmers together. Illinois Farm Families will debut “Field Moms” this fall. It wants Chicago-area mothers to visit farms, talk to farmers, take videos, then blog about what they learned at watchusgrow.org.

Moms must have at least one child 13 or younger living at home. They are expected to attend at least five one-day farm tours in the Chicago area.

Applications are due Aug. 21.