Young Farmers and Ranchers Pass the Hat to Raise $2,800 for Food Bank

SAN LUIS OBISPO – In just a few hours at San Luis Obispo Downtown Farmers’ Market on Thursday night, six Young Farmers & Ranchers wielding cowboy hats and a big red thermometer raised nearly $1,400 for the Food Bank Coalition’s Hunger Awareness Day campaign.

The half-dozen volunteers, all members of the county Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers committee (YF&R), passed the hat in an effort to reach their goal of raising $2,100 by the end of Hunger Awareness Day on Tuesday, June 5.

As the donations climbed Thursday night, so did the thermometer’s red line. “Our goal thermometer rose steadily all night,” said YF&R chairman, Kevin Barlet. “It was really inspirational to see so many people, both young and old, come up to us with donations. After a few short hours we could really see how every dollar counts.”

Steve Knudsen, SLO Co. Farm Bureau outreach coordinator, said the YF&R committee came up with the idea after hearing about the Food Bank’s goal to raise enough money in one day to feed 25,000 people in San Luis Obispo County for a year. “They took the challenge to heart and ran with it,” Knudsen said. “They’re a great bunch of young agriculturalists, and the Farm Bureau is very proud of their efforts.”

At the close of the Hunger Awareness Day campaign, representatives of the YF&R and the Farm Bureau who had exceed their goal by $700, presented their contribution totaling $2,800 to the Food Bank in Mission Plaza.