Business was good Thursday night as the McDonald’s of Becker hosted a fund-raiser for the Farm Friends Barn project, a non-profit organization that is raising funds to construct an educational barn near the campus of the Sherburne History Center in Becker.
Farm Friends organizer Jean Johnson said the idea came from a conversation she had with Becker Asst. City Administrator Kelli Neu, who mentioned that the restaurant does hold fund-raising events for area groups from time to time. The Farm Friends project will receive 15% of all sales that were made between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Thursday, Johnson said.
The project had signs up in the restaurant lobby, as well as a display of T-shirts and tickets to win a gas card as part of the fund-raising effort. Johnson said the project will need to raise an estimated $200,000 in order to build and equip the 40’ x 80’ structure to house all of the educational sites envisioned in the original plan. The blueprints for the structure were drawn up by Structural Buildings in Becker, Johnson said.
While the project has a long way to go to reach its financial goals, Johnson said they had already received a generous donation from the Area II Potato Research Board, and a number of other fund-raising options are being considered, including a clay shooting event at the Wild Marsh facility north of Becker in September.
Among those taking part in the project or stopping by to offer support along with Neu and Johnson were Carole Iten, Sherburne County Fair Board, Sherburne SWCD District Mgr. Francine Larson and SWCD Conservationist Bill Bronder, Dennis Fuchs, Stearns County SWCD and John Riebel, Sherburne County Board Chairman.
Donations by mail can be made to: Farm Friends Barn, P.O. Box 675, Becker, MN 55308, or for more information call Jean Johnson at (320) 248-2615.
