GROW Nebraska® Foundation and Buy Nebraska Blog

Member Spotlight : Bert Anderson Collection It has been said that every artist captures a bit of themselves in their work. It certainly is true for Lincoln artist Bert Anderson. Wait a minute you might think, everything Bert creates is er, ah, well, it’s small. You may look at Bert and scratch your head because by any definition he is a tall, solidly built man of stature. Let’s just say it, Bert is a big guy!  So where do we find that little bit of “Bert-ness” in each of his tiny figures?  Look closely at Bert’s kind face, the twinkle in his eyes, the mouth that is perpetually turned up a bit at the corners, ready to explode into a boyish grin and a booming laugh. See it now? Every one of Bert’s ornaments and figures appears to be privy to some inside humor or a private joke, creating an expression somewhere between impish grins and private Mona Lisa-like smiles. Since boyhood, Bert has been sculpting ideas in clay. Anderson has tackled a broad range o...

Christina Lieffring/The Columbus Telegram Dan Hilger, left, and his son Marc stand in their sunflower patch. Hilger uses sunflowers and a mix of legumes, mustard, barley and buckwheat as cover crops. - See more at: http://www.grownebraska.org/blog/2015/10/hilger-isnt-your-typical-farmer/#sthash.fiSPqWje.dpuf Christina Lieffring/The Columbus Telegram Dan Hilger, left, and his son Marc stand in their sunflower patch. Hilger uses sunflowers and a mix of legumes, mustard, barley and buckwheat as cover crops. - See more at: http://www.grownebraska.org/blog/2015/10/hilger-isnt-your-typical-farmer/#sthash.fiSPqWje.dpuf Christina Lieffring/The Columbus Telegram Dan Hilger, left, and his son Marc stand in their sunflower patch. Hilger uses sunflowers and a mix of legumes, mustard, barley and buckwheat as cover crops.   October 08, 2015 8:15 am  •   By Christina Lieffring / clieffring@columbustelegram.com BELLWOOD — After driving pa...

Increasing local food distribution options is one of the goals of the USDA grant awarded to GROW Nebraska. GROW Nebraska is working with ag-producers and ag-cooperatives throughout the state to brand their products, distribute to new regional markets and build wholesale business opportunities.   One local Nebraska business now has global customers thanks to GROW Nebraska and comments on the popular Dr. Oz show. Grain Place Foods, Inc. went from selling 10-20 two pound bags of hulled barley a week to receiving 600 orders in just three days after Dr. Oz touted hulled barley. Potential customers were easily able to find them on GROW Nebraska’s Amazon store. Christian Evans says this is a great example of how their partnership with GROW Nebraska has benefited their company. GROW also helps create awareness of the economic and cultural value of buying local to have transparency in food sources. Grain Place Foods, Inc. provides high quality, organic grains ...

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...