At their 99th annual convention at the Midtown Holiday Inn in Grand Island, the Nebraska Farmers Union (NeFU) announced the launch of the Farm To Fitness Program as part of their ongoing efforts resulting from an agreement with the Humane Society of the United States to identify, expand and promote new markets for humanely-raised livestock products in Nebraska. This announcement by NeFU has generated much discussion about an important topic for an increasing number of people: where your food comes from.
According to the Farm to Fitness website, “Farm To Fitness connects health-minded consumers to local producers of nutritious, humanely-raised foods,” “The program can include gyms promoting local producers to their members, personal trainers developing diets for their clients based on locally-sourced meats, and fitness centers providing a drop point for cooperatively-purchased food orders.” Partner gyms, personal trainer profiles, and participating farmers will be promoted on the website, which will feature other links and information for interested consumers.
“Farm to Fitness presents a great opportunity to provide quality food to people who have made an effort to increase their overall health,” said Jordan Barnes, a personal trainer in Lincoln. “Access to this service enables people to make positive changes not only to their personal health but also to their local communities and the environment,” Barnes added. “I believe that this is a first step to creating a market that, with enough support, could change how our food is produced.”
“The farm to Fitness program is a good match between food producers and food consumers,” said John Hansen, president of Nebraska Farmers Union. “This collaborative effort is a win-win for everyone. We have made a lot of progress this past year with our joint efforts with HSUS to identify new value-added markets that our livestock producers can utilize.”
“We at are very excited to be a part of the Farm to Fitness program,” said Heath Murray, co-owner and trainer at iThinkFit gym in Omaha. “We take pride in providing our clients with proper workouts, supplementation, and now, some of the finest meats in the world. This relationship is going to take our business to the next level.”
“This new program is clear evidence that the HSUS collaboration with the Nebraska Farmers Union is delivering results that are good for animals, good for farmers and good for consumers. I congratulate John Hansen for his leadership in this effort.” Stated Joe Maxwell, Director of Rural Development and Outreach for HSUS.
To read more:
Visit the Farm to Fitness website: www.farmtofitness.com
Omaha World-Herald article about Farm to Fitness: http://www.omaha.com/article/20121208/NEWS/712089903/1707
NTV News story (with video) about Farm to Fitness: http://www.nebraska.tv/story/20301239/new-farm-to-fitness-program
Brownfield Ag News story (with audio) about Farm to Fitness: http://brownfieldagnews.com/2012/12/09/neb-farmers-union-launches-humanely-raised-marketing-project/
Nebraska Farmers Union website: www.nebraskafarmersunion.org
