WEST MICHIGAN (WHTC-AM/FM) — A group of West Michigan farmers are uniting to help Nebraska farms devastated by recent storms.
Kerry Ackerman Tucker and other members of Farm and Rancher Aid from West Michigan will be heading to Fremont, NE, with supplies starting on Friday, April 19, 2019.
In a Facebook post Thursday, Ackerman Tucker wrote, “Wow, I know I sometimes over-use this adjective, but simply that is the best word I can use! The West Michigan area is simply amazing, and the love you are showing is heart-warming! “Over the past few days, 190 Easter baskets have made their way to the Hopkins FFA barn and are safely packed into a trailer to make their way westward. Many have asked where they will go. The short answer was we weren’t quite sure… until late yesterday afternoon. “Here’s a very brief synopsis of the Schuyler area. It is home to the single largest elementary school in the state of Nebraska. However, approx 500 kids qualify for free lunches and the area has a very high poverty rate. It also has a large immigration rate as there is a meat packing plant nearby. The average age of a woman in Colfax Co is 26 years old. And now they have been hit by floods. “In a discussion with a local pastor and an attorney, who are both members of local flood relief in Colfax Co (Schuyler), a local Easter egg hunt will be held Saturday morning using the eggs and Easter baskets we are bringing. The egg hunt will be for those kids who are on their “backpack program”, a program for kids who may go all weekend without a meal or who lack resources at home. “We are offering 100 of our baskets for this hunt and the rest of the baskets will be delivered to the producer families and their kids/grandkids. West Michigan – THANK YOU. You truly are living the FFA motto – Living to Serve.” Nebraska officials estimate farm damage from two major winter storms to be near one-and-a-half-billion-dollars. The convoy is expected to arrive on Friday and the group will help affected farmers over this Easter weekend.
