LITTLE ROCK — Families utilizing Little Rock’s Ronald McDonald House will be the beneficiaries as Arkansas Farm Bureau will again stock the facility’s food pantry in commemoration of Food Check-Out Week.  

The 11th annual national observance, Feb. 3-9, draws attention to the fact the United States continues to enjoy the world’s most abundant and affordable food supply. Food Check-Out Week is the time when the average American wage-earner will have earned enough disposable income to pay for his or her family’s food supply for the entire year. 

To celebrate that Arkansas Farm Bureau’s state women’s committee will donate enough easy-to-prepare food items to feed residents of Ronald McDonald House for up to three months. The facility serves as a “home-away-from-home” for families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service indicates American consumers spend, on average, just under 10 percent of their disposable income on food. Based on that, this year it will take five weeks to pay off their annual food bill.

In contrast, the Tax Foundation reports consumers work 52 days to pay for health and medical care and 77 days to earn enough to pay their federal taxes.

“We’ve come to look forward to this time each year,” says Doug Wilson, president of the Ronald McDonald House board of directors, “and are so thankful for our relationship with Arkansas Farm Bureau. At the end of the day our residents are tired and need food they can prepare quickly. We join with Farm Bureau in celebrating Food Check-Out Week and our families have come to anticipate this time each year.”

Farm Bureau women’s committees across the state will observe Food Check-Out Week in their hometowns by making donations to local food banks and sharing the message with shoppers at supermarkets, and in other ways.

“A major part of our mission is to inform consumers how safe and affordable food in America is and Food Check-Out Week gives us a platform to do that,” says Stanley Reed of Marianna, Arkansas Farm Bureau president. “Farmers and ranchers utilize the latest technology and research to ensure food in America remains the most affordable in the world, and that’s a message worth sharing.”