Posts filed under Farmer's 4 Good News!

Are You Ready to be the Biggest Loser?

Farmer’s Market is excited to announce the launch of our Biggest Loser Challenge! You’ve watched the show, you’ve marveled at the transformation the contestants make, you’ve wanted your chance -but you never thought you would have the opportunity. Your opportunity is NOW!

We’ll handle diet and exercise, just bring your gameface!

There are three key components to any effective weight loss regimen:

- A balanced diet with fresh fruits and vegetables as its foundation.

- A consistent exercise regime.

- Willpower and determination.

Throughout the course of this 10 week competition, we’re going to take care of 2 of these components for you. We’ve teamed up with the YMCA of Southwest Illinois and are proud to announce that each of the 10 contestants in the program will have full and complete access to any YMCA facility for the duration of the Challenge. That’s right! You’ll have access to state of the art equipment, and dozens of specialized group exercise programs – completely free of charge.

Your diet is crucial as well. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables have a big impact on your health. They lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer, and keep your appetite under control by lowering your blood sugar. Experts recommend 9 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables a day and we’re going to make that possible. Each week, Challenge contestants will receive a pre-loaded $20 Farmer’s Market Gift Card to help ensure that their diet is full of the ingredients of a healthy lifestyle.

Are you Challenge material?

The willpower and determination is all you have to bring to the challenge. In that vein, we’re looking the following qualities in our 9 contestants:

- First, you MUST be committed to following through with the Challenge to the best of your ability. Each contestant will be representing a District 118 Elementary School. The school that is represented by the winning contestant will have their Farmer’s 4 Education rebate for the month of November DOUBLED! Also, the students of the winning school will be treated to fresh made fruit salad courtesy of Farmer’s Market once a month for the remainder of the school year. As you can see, your efforts will mean a lot to the school you represent. Don’t shortchange them or yourself!

- Second, you MUST be willing to share your Challenge experience with the World. Yes, that means your weight will be published to any media channels of our choice. This includes, but is not limited to, our website, emails, and Facebook page. If you’re not willing to have your weight published in exchange for the opportunity to change your life, don’t apply for the Challenge! The 9 contestants will be people who recognize the life-changing opportunity they’re being provided by the YMCA and the Farmer’s Market.

- Lastly, you or someone close to you MUST be tech savvy enough to digitally document your efforts throughout the Challenge. Contestants will send us updates on their progress through written updates to our Facebook page, digital photos, and video clips if possible. Challenge contestants are also inspiring and motivational to everyone watching the Challenge and are encouraged to share their triumphs and failures with everyone.

How do I enter?

We’re looking for one (1) contestant from each of the 9 District 118 Elementary schools. Contestants can be parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, even friends of someone enrolled in a District 118 School that is part of our Farmer’s 4 Education program.

To make yourself eligible for the Challenge, submit your story via email (rick@farmers4education.com). We’re not English teachers, this doesn’t have to be an essay. Just convince us that you’re ready to change your lifestyle and that you understand the value of the opportunity provided by the YMCA and Farmer’s Market.

There will be a $25 entry fee that each of the contestants will pay upon their enrollment in the Challenge. There will be a total of 10 Challenge contestants, 9 representing District 118 and I’ll be representing Farmer’s Market. The total entry fees ($250) will be presented to the winner of the Challenge upon its conclusion.

The Challenge will run from 9/14/09 through 11/22/09. There will be a mandatory weigh-in at the North Belt location of Farmer’s Market each Monday during Challenge. The weekly weigh-in will be conducted anytime during our business hours from 8am-6pm. If you cannot make it to our N. Belt location for the next 10 Mondays, please don’t apply.

Prizes? Yeah, we got prizes!

As mentioned above, the winner of the Challenge will receive the sum of the $250 entry fees paid by contestants. In the words of Billy Mays…”That’s not all!” Details are still being finalized but on top of the prize of having your lifestyle transformed, and on top of the $250 cash prize, there will be Rams tickets, Cardinals tickets, gifts from the YMCA of Southwest Illinois, and gifts from the Farmer’s Market as well. Suffice it to say, the Challenge Winner will collect an awesome prize package for their efforts. They’ll also take pride in the fact that their win led directly to the doubling of the November Farmer’s 4 Education rebate to the school they’re representing.

That’s it! Now send me an email (rick@farmers4education.com) and tell me why you should be one of the 9 Challenge contestants. Make sure you mention the school you want to represent throughout the competition. If you’re waiting for someone else to take the plunge first, I’ll be submitting my story to our Facebook page and our website later today so stay tuned.

We’ll be accepting stories from applicants through close of business Friday, September 11th.




News Flash from Farmer’s Market!

Just going through the weekend numbers and it looks like we had a milestone.  Last weekend marked the FIRST time that Farmer’s 4 Education swipes made up 10% of our total business for the weekend.  To put this in perspective, remember that we’ve been in business for over 35 years.  A 4 month old program designed to support the education of our community’s youth is now making up a double digit slice of our business!  What’s even more exciting is that this is just the tip of the iceberg.  More schools are calling everyday to join in.  Church groups and non-profit groups will be launching soon, and the Boy & Girl Scouts won’t be far behind.  Together we’re making a BIG impact on our community!




Farmer’s 4 Education Double Cash Back Weekend Results!

Wow!  What an amazing weekend that was capped off by us raising over $400 for Belleville area schools in just 3 days!




Here are your instructions…

There are 4 tickets in the FIRST ROW of the Redbird Club on the line here so make sure you follow the directions explicitely.  The FIRST person to arrive at our North Belt location and complete the list below will be enjoying a night at Busch Stadium on us!

1) Put on at least one piece of Cardinal clothing.  It can be a shirt, jersey, hat, whatever.  As long as it says “Cardinals”

2) Arrive at our North Belt location and shout “I Love Farmer’s Market!”

3) Lastly you have to tell us (to the penny) how much money Farmer’s Market sent to Belleville schools through Farmer’s 4 Education in the month of May.  The information is on this page you’ll just have to find it.

If you’ve had our tickets in the last 30 days, please refrain from playing so others can have a chance.  Thanks, good luck, and drive safe please!




Watch this space at 3pm!

Be ready at 3pm sharp because we usually have a winner in minutes.    Oh, and here’s one more hint…you might want to familiarize yourself with some of the data from May’s Farmer’s 4 Education payout.  There may be a quiz :)




Farmer’s 4 Education totals for May!

Well May is in the books and the checks have been mailed to the schools.  We’ve got over 700 District 118 families enrolled in the program and they’re earning some serious money for their schools.  Here’s what May’s distribution looked like:

Abe Lincoln   $346.91 255 Cardholders
Douglas            $51.84 33 Cardholders
Franklin           $42.64 42 Cardholders
Henry Raab    $20.19 19 Cardholders
Jefferson         $37.98 28 Cardholders
Roosevelt       $94.93 70 Cardholders
Union               $73.93 63 Cardholders
Washington    $9.31 15 Cardholders
Westhaven     $138.68 102 Cardholders
High Mount   $107.03 42 Cardholders

Total Raised for Belleville Schools in May = $923.44




Farmer’s 4 Education in the news…

District 118, Farmer’s Market team up to urge healthy eating habits for kids

Fundraiser will produce winners all around

BY RICKEENA J. RICHARDS
News-Democrat

A Belleville school district and a Belleville business are teaming up to promote healthy eating habits among the city’s youth.

Rick Delashmit, assistant manager at the Belleville Farmer’s Market, said the Farmer’s 4 Education fundraiser for Belleville District 118 schools is “a win-win for everybody.”

“If you’re interested in raising funds for your school, we can’t think of an easier way to do it that also reinforces healthy eating habits for your children,” Delashmit said. To participate in the Farmer’s 4 Education program, customers can get a card at either of Farmer’s Market’s two Belleville locations and enroll online at www.farmers4education by submitting their name, e-mail address and membership card number.

The Farmer’s Market then donates 5 percent to 10 percent of the money from cardholders’ purchases back to the schools they wish to support. The more cardholders assigned to a school the greater the percentage of proceeds that school receives. Delashmit said he and his wife Jennifer came up with the idea for the program when they thought of the “unbelievable epidemic” of diet-related health conditions among youth, like childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes, and the fundraisers their two children often participate in at Westhaven School.

“When we try to raise money for our schools, we have our kids selling cookie dough,” he said. “It kind of got me thinking about how we struggle every day to get people to understand if you want to be healthy you’ve got to eat healthy.”

Superintendent Matt Klosterman said the program falls in line with the mission of the district’s wellness committee, which is to encourage healthy choices.

“It definitely allows us to promote to our students and their families consumption of fruits and vegetables and things like that, which are healthy options,” Klosterman said. “The other benefit, which is probably more indirect for the kids, would be us developing partnerships with folks in the community.”

Delashmit said the program could benefit the market’s business by drawing new customers who appreciate its commitment to their community.

“What we’re trying to drive home is ’support your local businesses because these are the businesses that support the community,’” he said.

He said the benefits the market and the district get from their partnership is what made starting the Farmer’s 4 Education program “a no-brainer.”

“This is all stuff we should be eating anyway, and if you’ve got a local business that gives back to the community and money goes back to our schools at the same time what’s not to like about that?”

Delashmit said while the fundraiser gives Belleville a way to support its schools, he plans on expanding it within the next few weeks to include churches and church-owned schools as part of a Farmer’s 4 Faith program.

In the meantime, people can visit www.farmers4education.com for to get more information about the District 118 fundraiser and track schools’ earnings.




We have a Winner!

It only took 7 minutes!  Stay tuned for pics from the game and keep watching for your chance to win all season long!




Winner!

We have a winner in 8 minutes flat!  Stay tuned for more tickets and pics from the most recent winner coming soon!




Here are your instructions…

So you want tonight’s Cardinal tickets, huh?  Be the first to follow these directions and you’ll be sitting in the FIRST ROW of the Redbird Club courtesy of Farmer’s Market!

1) You are not eligible if you’ve won our tickets within the last 30 days…

2) You must be the first to arrive at our 500 North Illinois location.  We want the other side of town to have a chance to arrive first.  You’ll still need to pick up the tickets at the North Belt location once you are declared the winner.  Please drive safely!

3) When you arrive you must have a Cardinals item of some kind in your possession (hat, shirt, pennant, keychain) anything Cardinals.

4) Upon arrival you must proclaim loudly inside the store “I LOVE FARMER’S MARKET!”

5) You must be taking at least one child (15 & under) to the game with you.

6) We will supply the child/children with Farmer’s Market T-Shirts which they must wear at the game.

7) You must agree to email us a photo of said child/children at the game with their Farmer’s Market T-Shirts on.

That’s it!  Seems like an easy way to get 4 awesome tickets to tonight’s game from Farmer’s Market!




« Older Entries    

  • Mailing List: Sign up for our mailing list, it's free!
     
  • Tell a friend: Spread the word about Farmer's 4 Good!
    Bookmark and Share Tell a Friend