By Bonnie Bargstedt, NEAFA Vice President
Let’s focus on the seasonal theme “Thankful, Grateful, Blessed” and how it relates to NEAFA. We can link these words to our lives in our individual businesses no matter if you’re in the feed, farm, transportation, nutrition, seed, supply, education, financial or other industries we each represent.
Thankful – NEAFA has a long history dating back to 1918. I am Thankful that industry leaders had the vision to band together and find common issues to collaborate on that make our industries prosper. We speak with a collective voice and advocate for our members, animal agriculture and other stakeholders in NY, VT, NH, ME, MA, PA, and CT. We work to identify, proactively address and help resolve issues impacting us. We provide relevant services that focus on creating a competitive advantage for all served. These are the benefits of being a member of NEAFA and we proudly strive to meet the expectations of our members. Know that all suggestions and ideas are welcome.
Grateful - Those who give their personal time and commitment to represent NEAFA can never know how grateful our industry is. Everyone, including our committee members, Directors, Officers, members and our amazing staff of 1 – Sue VanAmburgh, give their all to keep NEAFA relevant with legislators, industry stakeholders and other industry organizations. Thank you for your dedication and service.
Blessed – We often take our situations in life for granted. Last week Charlie Elrod, Sean Dieumegard and I had the opportunity to represent NEAFA making visits to key Legislators in NYC with the Northeast Dairy Producers Association and NY Farm Bureau. The visits went well. We found we have more in common than initially thought. The Blessed part you ask? My group ended the day at a food distribution event in the 44th / 46th district of the Bronx with Assemblyman Landon Dais who represents the 77th Assembly district.
We are all hearing about food insecurity and know the issue is real. Living in rural areas we often do not see the depth of hunger unless we volunteer at a shelter, food pantry or distribution event. This event had people lined up around the block to receive a single shopping bag with a small turkey, some vegetables, a can of sauce, tuna, some water, Sunny Delight and a couple pints of milk. Assemblyman Dais was keen to tell us honestly that this is one of the highest crime districts in the city. He stressed that hunger drives people to do desperate things. His hope is to build the city – upstate bond to help address hunger in his district.
This event was coordinated by RTG – Release the Grip – an anti-gun violence group serving this impoverished area. Imagine living where the necessity of having this group exists. Mr. Dais proudly introduced us to the people waiting in line as “Upstate Farmers who grow your food”. The applause was unexpected and humbling.
We are Blessed to be part of the few who contribute to feeding the many. We are Blessed to live peacefully with an abundance of food. We are Blessed to have NEAFA represent us so we can do it successfully. If you’re not yet a member I would ask you to consider joining NEAFA to help us broaden our efforts.
Happy Thanksgiving to you, your family and all those you hold dear.