Good DAY!
A quarterly publication of the National Grange Vol. 5, Issue 1 l Spring 2021
Small Town Gems Make Us Who We Are The identity of our rural communities is sometimes defined by landmarks that dot the backroads like Grange Halls and historic churches like The Little Brown Church
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GRANGE YOUTH
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GRASSROOTS & VOICES FROM THE FIELD
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JUNIOR GRANGE
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IDEAS FOR GRANGE PROGRAMS & ACTION
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H & L
HOBBIES & LIFESTYLE
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MEMBERSHIP NEWS & RECOGNITION
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F & R
FOOD & RECIPES
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LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS
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LAST WORD
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NATIONAL NEWS
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PERSPECTIVE: Smalltown Landmarks Revisited
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Cover Photo
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In small towns across the country, there are irreplaceable landmarks. Granges, churches and other buildings are more than just structures. They are home to memories and emotions, the places in which families have started, grown, giggled, gathered and grieved. For the iconic Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa, like many Granges, a needed restoration helped one member examine just how places can shape and change people. Photo credit: Submitted photo
Good Day! Magazine is a quarterly publication of the National Grange. located at 1616 H St. NW, Washington, DC 20006. ISSN: 2688-6030. | All comments and questions can be directed to abrozana@nationalgrange.org Reproduction or distribution of any part of this magazine is prohibited by anyone other than a Grange member or a chartered Grange without written permission from the National Grange Communications Department.
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As biopharmaceutical researchers keep searching for breakthrough cures they don’t have to look far for inspiration. In this new era of medicine, where breakthroughs are transforming prevention and treatment options, PhRMA is committed to fixing America’s health care system the right way.
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GRANGE ADVOCACY ADVERTORIAL www.Innovation.org
Grange sought out as respected organization to be face of vaccine push for rural Amerca By Sean O’Neil Legislative Assistant As the United States moves into a new phase of vaccine deployment, with an abundance of vaccines available, public health officials are turning their focus to combatting vaccine hesitancy. As
part
of
this
effort,
private
organizations and the government are coming together to work on public advocacy
campaigns
encouraging
everyone who is eligible to get the vaccine as soon as they can. So far, the National Grange has joined two different efforts to promote the COVID-19 vaccine, the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project’s “Count Me In!” campaign and the Biden administration’s COVID-19 Community Corps. In Spring of this year, the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project, a non-profit coalition of health care and community organizations, launched the “Count Me In!” digital campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccine uptake. As
coronavirus.
coming from the Grange.
As part of this campaign, the White House has enlisted 275 organizations ranging from NASCAR to the Catholic Health
Association
as
partners
in
spreading the word about the value of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Beyond
these
coalition
efforts
dealing with vaccine hesitancy, the National Grange has also advocated for rural Americans to get increased access to the vaccine. For example, in a recent
Among these organizations, the
letter to Food and Drug Administration
White House extended the invitation
Commissioner Dr. Stephan Hahn, the
to the National Grange to serve as a
National Grange urged the Biden
founding member of the Corps and
administration and the FDA to pursue
an advocate for the vaccine in rural
creative ways to expand access to the
part of this effort, the COVID-19 Vaccine
America,
Education and Equity Project recruited
hesitancy are particularly high.
where
levels
of
vaccine
community organizations of all stripes
The role of the National Grange in
to participate in their public advocacy,
the Community COVID-19 Corps will
including the National Grange.
be
to
communicate
COVID-19 vaccine in rural America from pop-up vaccine clinics to alternative methods of vaccine delivery.
science-based
As the fight to combat vaccine
The National Grange contributed a
information about the vaccine with both
hesitancy in the United States is just
testimonial from President Betsy Huber
Grange members and their communities
beginning to take shape as vaccines
speaking about the value of getting the
through official communications, social
COVID-19 vaccine so that people can
have
media posts, and events.
weeks, the National Grange is leading
get back to work.
Because the National Grange has
In March, the Biden administration announced
the
creation
Community
COVID-19
of
the
been a trusted pillar of many rural communities for over a century, the
become
abundant
in
recent
the way in advocating for the benefits of the vaccine by participating in private sector and government efforts
Corps,
an
National
intended
to
Americans who may be concerned
to promote the vaccine and using its
Americans
as
about the safety and effectiveness of the
own platform to advocate for increased
possible to be vaccinated against the
vaccine will be receptive to information
access to the vaccine in rural America.
advertising encourage
campaign as
many
N
Grange
hopes
that
rural
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Grange Membership
BENEFITS Below is an overview of some of the benefits that are available to Grange members across the country. A full, detailed list can be viewed on the National Grange’s website: www.nationalgrange.org/benefits
$
SHOP
We have partnered with Office Depot/Office Max and The Azigo CashBack Shopping Mall. When you shop at these locations or use these services, you are giving back to the National Grange and receiving special deals in the process.
FINANCE
The National Grange has partnered with TSYS Merchant Solutions, which has been serving merchants for more than 30 years and offers a payment processing program tailored to your business needs. If you have a small business, this advantage could help you.
TRAVEL
R/
X
With discounts from Choice Hotels, Wyndham Hotels, Hertz, Dollar Car, and Thrifty rental car services, as well as other hotel and rental car businesses, and RV accommodations with Harvest Hosts, these exclusive Grange benefits are sure to help you when planning your next vacation.
HEALTH
Our partnerships with Comfort Keepers, one of the top companies in the eldercare industry, Life Line, and the Medical Air Services Association, the oldest prepaid emergency transportation and screening organization, are sure to give you peace of mind about your health.
PHARMACY
We have multiple partnerships to help Grange members obtain discount pharmacy cards. CVS Caremark offers the RxSavings Plus Card. The U.S. Pharmacy Card is a free discount prescription card available to Grangers. Last offer excludes members in NC. Also a partnership with National Affinity Services allows access to the public subsidized government marketplace.
INSURANCE
We have partnerships with United of Omaha Life Insurance Company and MetLife Home and Auto Insurance to give our members discounts on insurance rates and deals. We are proud to announce a new benefit partner, Clouse Insurance Agency. State-based and property-based restrictions apply. Contact agency directly. Excludes Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, and North Carolina.
... and many more plus new ones added regularly. Check our website for all active benefits. www.nationalgrange.org/benefits
BRIGHT IDEA FOR PROGRAMMING
Protests by India’s farmers give insight into global ag issues By Kennedy Gwin Communications Manager
and Sean O’Neil Legislative Assistant India, the world’s second most
all-important monsoon season. The first, The Farmers’ Produce
income. For context, currently the
Trade and Commerce Act, expands
minimum support price only assists
the areas where farm products can be
about six percent of India’s farmers, and
sold from select locations to any given
many had been arguing that the price
market and allows for the introduction
should be expanded prior to these laws.
of ecommerce into agriculture.
populous country and fourth largest
Next, The Farmers Agreement of
agriculture producer, has been gripped
Price Assurance and Farm Services Act
for the past few months by some of the
creates a new format for agriculture
largest protests in the country’s history
contracts which allows for the sale
which have emerged in response to
of commodities futures and create a
new farms laws.
new dispute resolution mechanism for
More than 800 million Indian citizens
they would not be guaranteed an
agriculture contracts.
rely on agriculture as their primary
Finally, The Essential Commodities
source of income, and many perceive
Act allows the government to manage
recently passed laws to be a direct
certain crops quantities and prices in an
threat to their livelihood.
ill-defined period of crisis.
The laws that have triggered such
These laws failed to continue the
a backlash amongst India’s farmers are
popular government guarantee of a
known as the three farm acts, which
minimum support price for agricultural
were passed in June of 2020 during the
goods, leading many farmers to fear
In
response
to
this
perceived
challenge to their economic wellbeing, farmers unions in India have demanded they be rescinded without compromise and organized protests, some of which have garnered more than one million supporters. Hundreds of thousands of protestors have been occupying the area outside of India’s parliament in New Dehli for weeks. These protesting farmers have also been joined by other unions in solidarity, as well as other groups which are opposed to the current government led by the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These protests have even gained wide attention, and a number of Indian immigrants to the United States and their allies who are sympathetic to the cause of Indian farmers have protested by the White House near the National Grange building in Washington, D.C., and at the U.S. Capitol. “These laws are a direct threat to livelihoods that depend on farming,” said a protestor, holding a sign as he demonstrated near the Grange building. He did not provide his name. These protesters are asking the U.S. to pressure the Indian government to help the nation’s farmers. The Indian government’s response to these protests has been widely
Photo by Kennedy Gwin Individuals have taken to the streets in India as well as Washington, DC, to support farmers in the South Asian country. Here, protesters who had gathered outside the White House stop for a moment in March in D.C.
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repressive both at in-person events and through online censorship. From the beginning of protests, police throughout India have violently broken up demonstrations and arrested
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PERSPECTIVE
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Landmarks
On the Backroads
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Chickpeas are original magic By Ann Olson Bercher
Beans
President, Minnesota State Grange Certified Culinary Specialist Springing ahead while writing this article on chickpeas also known as garbanzo beans got me to thinking about stories about beans. I am reminded of Jack and the beanstalk, and those magic beans that he traded his mother’s cow for. If those beans had only been garbanzo beans, it would have saved him a lot of energy climbing up and down that beanstalk. Garbanzo beans are so versatile, Jack could have made his fortune in selling all the goodies that can be prepared with them! I’m talking about more than just Hummus, although Hummus is probably the reason most of us in the United States have heard of them. Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are native of Southwest Asia and have been cultivated there for over 9,000 years. Remains of chickpeas have been found during archeological digs of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period, which means these plants were being domesticated and farmed before humans could produce pottery. There are two general types: desi and kabuli. Desi is the wild version of chickpeas (Cicer reticulatum) and are small seeds with a tough, thick seed coat and a dark color. They are mainly grown in Asia, Iran, Ethiopia and Mexico. Kabuli (Cicer arietinum) is the larger, cream colored seed with a thin, light seed coat and resemblance to a ram’s head complete with curling horns. These are most common in Middle Eastern and Indian cuisines. The name chickpea derives from the
French “chiche” and Latin “cicer” which
you will also benefit from 34-45 grams
means chickpea and was first found
of carbohydrates (canned chickpeas are
in English print in 1338 and later cited
on the lower end), 9-12 grams of fiber
in mid-18th century dictionaries. The
(dried, cooked chick peas are on the high
legume became known as a chickpea
end), 4 grams of fat, 6 grams of sugar,
after the French word “pois chiche”
10–15 grams of protein (dried, cooked
traveled across the English Channel and
chickpeas have more protein), and as for
became “chiche pease.” The “s” may
your daily requirements of nutrients, you
have been mistaken for a plural, and thus
get 8% calcium, 40% fiber, 22% iron (for
concluded that one “chiche pease” was
dried cooked, 8% for canned) 70% folic
a “chick pea.”
acid (15% canned), and 39% phosphorus
“Garbanzo” comes from the Spanish
(17% canned.)
world for chickpea, a compound of
Canned chickpeas are convenient,
“garau” meaning seed and “antzu”
and tasty, but if you really want greater
meaning dry.
nutritional
Today, more than 12 million tons of Chickpeas are grown worldwide, with India being the largest producer.
value,
purchasing
dried
chickpeas and using them isn’t that difficult. To begin with, there are a few measurements to keep in mind. One
They are also grown in the United
cup of dried chickpeas will equal roughly
States with the largest producers found
3 cups of cooked beans. Each can
in Washington, Idaho, Montana, North
of chickpeas contains about 1 ½ cup
Dakota and California.
cooked beans.
The nutritional benefits of chickpeas are plentiful. At 269 calories per a one cup serving,
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Before cooking dried chickpeas, soak them overnight in a large bowl covered with water.
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