Fairgoers Eat a Great Meal Today for Just $1

September 6, 2016 – By #South Dakota Farmer Union

Fair food is known for its tempting aromas – not its bargain prices. Today however, more than 1,000 fairgoers filled their bellies for just a $1 during the South Dakota Farmers Union Farmers Share Luncheon held at the South Dakota State Fair in Huron.

 The hearty meal, consisting of a pulled pork sandwich, baked beans, potato chips and milk, is designed by Farmers Union to clearly demonstrate to fairgoers how much of the grocery store price tag South Dakota’s farmers and ranchers take home after harvesting the crops or livestock they raise.

At a local café, this meal would cost about $8 – but only about 30 cents goes to the South Dakota family farmers and ranchers who raise the ingredients.

 “Anyone who shops for groceries knows how much they pay to eat; however, they have no way of knowing how much of what they pay in the grocery store actually goes into the pockets of farmers and ranchers who raise the food. That’s why I like the Farmers Share Luncheon,” explains fourth generation Tabor farmer, Terry Sestak, who serves as a Farmers Union Board member.

 A quick trip to the grocery store emphasizes the gap between a $4 gallon of milk and the little more than a $1 a dairy farmer and his family receives, explains Karla Hofhenke, Executive Director of South Dakota Farmers Union.

 “Everyone is concerned about high prices in the grocery store – I understand that; it wasn’t too many years ago that I was shopping for a family of five,” said Hofhenke. “However, what our state’s farmers and ranchers actually take home as income is a far cry from the prices we all see on our grocery receipt after a trip to the super market.”

 Billie Paulsen of Watertown was surprised to learn how little of what she pays for groceries goes to the families raising the food.

 “Just crazy how much you gain and farmers don’t receive,” said Paulsen, who makes the annual journey to the S.D. State Fair with her husband, Derrick and daughters, Summer. 14 and Winter, 8.

 This response is exactly the reason South Dakota Farmers Union hosts the Farmers Share Luncheon each year during the South Dakota State Fair.

 “This is a good promotion for South Dakota family farmers and ranchers as it increases consumer awareness,” Sestak says. “What better place to promote agriculture and the people who raise our food than at the South Dakota State Fair.”

 All funds raised from the suggested donation of $1 goes to the South Dakota Farmers Union Foundation.

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Last Modified: 09/06/2016 10:42:20 am MDT