Rob:  The average American works about three full months just to pay their taxes for the year.  And, when reached, that day is called Tax Freedom Day; and this year, it falls about the end of March.  Now when you apply that same concept to the cost of food, it's called Food Check Out Day, and that date, well, it's already passed.  Dustin Mielke followed a group of Oklahomans as they marked the occasion with a charitable donation.
Dustin Mielke:  Ah, yes, the trip to the grocery store.  There's the milk and the bread, then the eggs and... wait, how much is all this going to cost?  Thanks to American agricultural producers, the average American earns enough income by February 6th to pay their food bill for the entire year.  Farm Bureau marks this occasion by celebrating Food Check-Out Day.  Clara Wichert, chairman of Oklahoma Farm Bureau's Women's Committee, tells us how affordable our food is.
Clara Wichert:  USDA has told us that it only takes 37 days for an average family of four to make appropriate money to pay for their food the rest of the year.  There are some other statistics, from the Tax Foundation, that it takes 52 days to pay for your medical, 62 days to pay for your housing and household, and 77 days to pay for your tax.  So, food's a good deal.
Dustin:  And even in the face of mounting input costs for Ag producers, Wichert says farmers still enjoy sharing what they have.
Wichert:  I'm a farmer and I grow alfalfa wheat and cattle.  And so, I really feel good about it, being able to provide food that's safe, affordable, and abundant.
Dustin:  And in that sharing spirit, Oklahoma Farm Bureau's Women's Committee helped celebrate the affordability of food in our nation by donating $2000 worth of food to the Ronald McDonald Houses in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.  Herb Gilkey, executive director of the Oklahoma City Ronald McDonald House, says the food is a tremendous help to the house and the families it supports.
Herb Gilkey:  This is just amazing, and it just blows us away when we see this donation, and we know how much it's going to support the families.  One of the things that we do is provide dinners for our families.  We have a dinner every evening, and one of the things that we found out is that the families who are at the hospital, they're usually there all day long, and when they come to the Ronald McDonald House, and they can smell a home cooked meal, this just goes miles and miles in providing a service that they don't have, because they're away from home.  It's just a gratifying feeling, what the Farm Bureau does for us.
Dustin:  Wichert says that the celebration extends across the nation as Farm Bureau Women from coast-to-coast make donations to their local Ronald McDonald Houses.
Wichert:  Farm Bureau women all over the United States are celebrating today, just like we are here in Oklahoma.  And we've chosen the Ronald McDonald House as something we will all contribute to all over the United States.  So, in every state today, that's going on from Farm Bureau women.
Dustin:  So now that the food bill is taken care of for the year, you can sit back, relax, and work on paying off your taxes.