Farm Bureau celebrates Food Check-Out DayAs of Feb 7, next Monday, you (the average family) will have earned enough income to pay for your family’s entire food supply for 2005.You’re going to have to work a little longer to pay for the year’s tax bill, however.The purpose of the Food Check-Out Day is to point out to the American people the low cost of food in our country.According to the latest statistics compiled by the Agricultural Department’s Economic Research Service, American families and individuals currently spend, on average, 10 percent of their disposable personal income for food.So, the average family is able to pay for its annual food supply in just 37 days.The Bureau goes on to point out that the tax freedom day takes over 100 days to reach, falling somewhere in mid- April.I’m all in favor of cheap food, but I’m not sure the comparison is fair.While food is a very important aspect of our lives, taxes go toward a variety of things, including education, roads and bridges, public safety, human services and the defense of our country, including homeland security.I think the Farm Bureau Federation should stick to pointing out what a great job they do at raising high- quality inexpensive food and forget about irrelevant comparisons.4-H members hit the streetsA couple of weeks ago I was telling you to expect a knock on the door from our local Girl Scouts out on their annual cookie sales.Now it’s the 4-H members’ turn, only they are selling "fruit and more."Fruit has always been the staple of the 4-H fund-raiser, with apples, oranges, pears and grapefruit in the mix.Over the years, other things have been added to their sales arsenal.In addition to fruit, this year’s items will include popcorn, cheese, beef sticks, pickled herring and a variety of frozen foods.If a 4-H’er doesn’t contact you, and you would like to make a purchase, you can call the Rock County Extension office at 283-1320 by Feb. 21 to place your order.The "Fruit and More" sale is the major fund-raiser used by local 4-H’ers to help support their local activities, some of which include summer day camps, overnight camps, after-school and summer project days, leadership training, communication contests and the many activities at the county and state fairs.Downtown Council to meet with State Historic Preservation OfficeOn Friday, Feb. 4, the recently formed Downtown Business Council will meet with the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office to discuss historic preservation in the downtown district.According to Jill Wolf, Luverne’s economic development director, the discussion will focus on how to obtain funding, historic tax credits, getting on the National Register of Historic Places and the benefits of a historic tax district.As she has done at past meetings, Betty Mann will give the history of two of Luverne’s downtown buildings/businesses.The meeting will start at 9:00 a.m. at the Luverne Pizza Ranch.Welcome spring with DaffodilsThe American Cancer Society hopes you will welcome in spring with some daffodils.The annual daffodil sale is used by the American Cancer Society to help support cancer research, education and service programs.If you would like to preorder the daffodils, you must do so by Feb. 16 by calling 283-4039 or 283-8311.The flowers are scheduled to arrive March 7.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com