GROW Nebraska® Foundation and Buy Nebraska Blog

Most Nebraskans know about their local FFA chapters' annual fruit sales. Many FFA chapters do include a few local products to sell along with fruit. This fall, GROW Nebraska was able to work with the Southern Valley FFA chapter by providing three local Nebraska companies to be part of their offerings. HR Poppin Snacks of Gibbon, NE was also able to create Blue and Gold Southern Valley FFA flavored popcorn. Our hope is that GROW Nebraska can continue to work with more Nebraska FFA chapters as well as other youth fundraising activities. Why not use local products as fundraiser? Many agree there is a need to restructure school fundraisers away from sweets or products that do not benefit the local economy. One example is FarmRaiser , a school fundraising company with the goal of completely reinventing the industry. Out with the sea of sugar and junk food, and in with CSA-esque seasonal veggie selections, fresh Washington apples, dried organic blueberries, locally roasted coffee, a...

HASTINGS -- The idea came to Andrew Vrbas as the crowded old bus, which tilted precariously on its shot suspension, wound its way through the Andes Mountains in southeastern Peru. The Kansas native was a year out of high school and had spent nearly three hours each day traveling from his host’s home in a small community outside of the city of Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire, to the school where he taught English to children. Flooding had drowned out the tourism industry for the season, putting many people out of work. People needed jobs, and he wanted to help. A thought surfaced as he sat on the bus thinking about jobs and modern amenities often taken for granted in the states. Soap. From that simple thought grew ambitious dreams of putting people to work producing millions of bars of soap and providing a wholesome product to schools that would improve the lives of children and protect them from disease. Hand washing is a simple way to help prevent pne...