Carol Albrecht, owner of the farm and a 3rd generation Chaffin farming our land, is starting the Chico-Butte Valley Chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation. This new local chapter will be sponsoring monthly cooking classes.

Butte County is missing out in over 50 million dollars in economic activity this year due to less than full enrollment in Child Nutrition Program. Dr. Cindy Wolff's presented this information at the Organic and Sustainable Agricultural Conference in November.

24,427 Butte County residents are eligible, but not participating in the Food Stamp Program.

24,427 x $104, the average amount per recipient.

Result? $2,540,408/month in federal funds is lost due to under participation.

But that is not all. For every Food Stamp $1.00, an additional $1.84 is generated in other spending. Equals $4,674,350 a month of lost economic activity.

That is $56,092,200.00 per year.

And it is just the outer skin of the onion. Better fed kids achieve better academically, are healthier, and are less likely to become delinquent - all conditions that reduce the burden of public service programs and those conditions that reflect poorly on our county.

It is my feeling that no other economic program could so dramatically improve the local economy than a program in charge of seeing that every eligible family has access to this child nutrition program.

Furthermore, money spent locally at farmers markets more than doubles the money recycled in the community over those food dollars spend in large grocery outlets - potentially adding another $2,500,000.00 a month to the local economy. Not to mention that the Leopold Center study comparing local to non-local food prices found a savings of over 10% to those purchasing produce at Farmers Markets over Supermarket prices for the same items. (Click on the graph above to be taken to the press release.) Extrapolating

Two male student nurses took around 10 blood pressures and were able to give some tips about how to lower blood pressure at the Fire House Certified Farmers Market in October. They were also able to buy some cheap fresh veggies. This is a cell phone picture of Daniel Ekdahl, taken by fellow student Mike Herman, taking a blood pressure reading in front of the El Medio Fire Station that Thursday.

Markets run year-round on Thursdays - 11 AM to 3 PM - Myers & D Street - Oroville.

We hope to have other health students providing this much appreciated service in Oroville in the near future.

Every Friday, at the Chapmantown Farmers Market located in the park at the Dorothy F. Johnson Center - 16th & C Street, California State University Chico Nursing Students are offering free blood pressure screenings.

Sixth semester students participating in the blood pressure screening program include Pang Her, Christy Olson, Kim O'Dell and Megan Latta. The students are participating as a part of their public health nursing curriculum. Each semester, nursing students will volunteer their time at the Chapman Farmers Market in an effort to promote health awareness in the Chapman neighborhood. (Click on images to enlarge.)

Left to right, Pang Her, Christy Olsen and Kim O’Dell

Christy Olsen taking a blood pressure

Megan Latta taking a blood pressure at the new location of the farmers market, The Dorothy Johnson Center.