[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 29, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             IN HONOR OF THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF MARKET DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JUDY BIGGERT

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 29, 2000

  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, for those who believe that one person 
cannot make a difference, I offer you the story of Trudi Temple and 
Market Day, the nation's first and only fundraising food cooperative, 
which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
  I am sure that many of my colleagues know about, and have even 
participated in, Market Day. Market Day donates a minimum of 10 percent 
of the purchase price of restaurant-quality food products to the school 
or community organization from which they were purchased. Proceeds from 
Market Day sales are used by schools and community organizations to 
fund a variety of expenditures, including computers, fine arts 
programs, playground equipment, assemblies, books, and field trips.
  How important has this been to our nation's schools? Well, in the 
last 25 years, Market Day has raised $250 million, benefiting more than 
two million school children nationwide.
  But before all these schools could reap the benefits of Market Day, 
someone first had to come up with this great idea. And what makes this 
so near and dear to my heart is that the story of Market Day begins in 
1973 at Walker Elementary School in Clarendon Hills, Illinois--in the 
heart of my 13th Congressional District.
  Trudi Temple was asked by her daughter to bake a cake for the 
school's annual fundraiser. Instead of a cake, Trudi brought cases of 
fresh produce to school. The produce was a hit with the kids, faculty, 
and parents--such a hit, in fact, that it led to the school's first 
``Produce Day'' the following week.
  Before long, ``Produce Day'' evolved into Market Day and other 
Chicago area schools selected the program as their primary fundraiser. 
Now it serves more than 6,000 schools and other community groups in 20 
metropolitan areas across the United States.
  We all know the challenges that our schools face in educating our 
children--and often additional funding is needed to overcome these 
challenges. In these days of tight budgets and property tax caps, 
schools must turn to nontraditional funding sources. Thanks to Trudi 
Temple and Market Day, schools have at least one more way to help 
improve our children's educational experience.
  So I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Market Day on its 25th 
anniversary and extending a word of thanks on behalf of the millions of 
students Market Day has helped.

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