Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 6 22 POTATO GROWER Stella Halverson Goes To The White House Stella Halverson and her family jumped on a jet and headed for Washington, DC in mid July. Stella was the winner of this years’s Healthy Lunchtime Challenge and Kids’ State Dinner, a recipe contest for kids ages 8-12 in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and US territo- ries to promote healthy, affordable eating and cooking. Stella’s “Red Potato Boat with 3 Bean Bison Chili” won for the recipe for the state of North Dakota. Stella and parents, Eric and Yvette, and sisters, Lucy, Ruby, and Lola all headed to Washington, DC. Stella said while they were there they vis- ited many DC landmarks including the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Vietnam Veterans Wall, and the World War II Memorial. Eric and Stella attended the White House State Dinner on July 14th, where they met First Lady Michelle Obama. Stella said meeting the First Lady was her favorite part of the trip although she admits that she was very nervous. She was also very excited because she met Rachel Ray of the Rachel Ray Show at the dinner. She said First Lady Michelle Obama issued a challenge to everyone attending the dinner. She wanted everyone to go home to their respective communities and do something to help or effect positive change in the community. So Stella is trying to do just that. She is putting the plans together to start a non-profit called Stella’s Spuds. She said she wants to use any extra potatoes that her dads’s company, Black Gold Farms, has at the end of a growing season and donate them to charities or community food banks, or food shelves. This idea is still in the development stage. Stella is putting together a business plan to present to the Marketing Department at Black Gold Farms. Eric Halverson says, “The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge was a great experience for not only Stella but the entire family. Of course I per- sonally got the benefit of being able to tag along and visit the White House with Stella. The main take- away from the experience outside of the sightseeing and immersion in the history of Washington DC is that our children learned the power of participation. It is hard to be suc- cessful in anything if you don’t try. When Stella won it made the entire family understand there is potential in anything they want to do. It real- ly is a lesson at an early age about engaging in something you are pas- sionate about.” Stella says she would like to qualify to be a contestant on the cooking show, Master Chef Jr. Chef Gordon Ramsey, if you are reading this arti- cle, give Stella a call. We are very proud to have Stella’s recipe, “Red Potato Boat with 3 Bean Bison Chili,” as our recipe page in this months issue. Please see the recipe on page 10 of this issue. Enjoy!! Eric and Stella Halverson with First Lady Michele Obama at the White House. (Photo courtesy of the White House)