I have the pleasure of working with some amazing people who support family farmers and Farm Aid with generous donations. Travis Webb, a trauma surgeon by day, intermittent farm hand for his dad on their Illinois family farm, is one of those people. I wanted to share a recent note he sent to me. It’s hearing stories like this one from people involved with Farm Aid that inspire me all year long – but gives us all an extra boost of energy when we are in the thick of concert season.
Just thought I would send you a couple pics from my recent trip back home with the boys to my parents farm. My dad happily put me to work! Admittedly, I hadn’t baled hay in many years, so I was pretty excited to do it… The tractor I’m driving was my Grandpa’s first tractor. Dad had it refurbished last year. Pretty cool!
We are certainly excited to be joining the Farm Aid family again this year in a couple of weeks. It’s hard to believe another year has passed. I look forward to the rejuvenation of spirit and focus on the family farm and locally sourced food. The experience that we have had with the Farm Aid concerts and the interactions with everyone associated with the organization has been inspiring and “life changing.” That may seem corny, but it is true. I truly appreciate the work that you and everyone in the office and those championing the cause continue to do. Every day, I see the growth of locally sourced food, and I take a tiny bit of pride that I have something to do with that movement.
For example, my sons’ school changed their cafeteria food sourcing this year to local family farm produced food. The really cool thing about this is how excited my kids are about the change. It’s all about spreading the word and culture and getting people to buy in and understand the impact and importance of supporting local farmers and how that can translate into healthier lives and communities.
On the opposite side, it is so disappointing to hear about public schools rejecting the federal healthier choice lunch programs because kids and parents don’t like the fresh food and smaller portion sizes. In other words, there is a lot of work to do…
We’re all fired up to keep doing it! And we can’t wait to see you in a couple weeks!!
Hope all is well.
Talk to you soon,
Travis