Team Buche Cares Joins Farmers Union

By Scout Nelson

South Dakota Farmers Union forms a strong partnership with Team Buche Cares to help families face food challenges across rural and tribal communities. This effort begins months before thousands of South Dakotans experience uncertainty with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during the government shutdown.

The Farmers Union decides to support the non-profit because members believe in helping feed local families.

Team Buche Cares is led by RF Buche, a fourth-generation grocer whose family has been serving rural South Dakota communities since 1905. The organization focuses on providing food support to underserved households. With help from the Farmers Union, Team Buche Cares distributes $100 grocery certificates to SNAP families to help cover weekly food costs.

Buche explains that farmers and ranchers share a deep commitment to feeding others. Board members from the Farmers Union agree, noting that helping local families is part of their mission to keep rural communities strong and vibrant. They say the partnership aligns with their values of service and community support.

Buche’s belief in helping others comes from his family’s long history of doing the right thing. He recalls watching his father pay for a young mother’s groceries when she could not afford them.

This lesson shaped the core values of his grocery business: caring for people, supporting communities, and acting with integrity. He says that poverty is not a choice, and many families need extra help to get through hard times.

Today, Buche continues to advocate for independent grocery stores and their importance to rural towns. He explains that grocery stores help keep communities alive by offering food, jobs, and support for local families.

Farmers Union President Doug Sombke shares that feeding people is a natural part of what farmers and ranchers do. He explains that the organization’s grassroots policy supports food security, especially for children and families who need help the most.

Together, South Dakota Farmers Union and Team Buche Cares work to make sure families across the state have access to food, support, and hope. Their shared mission reflects long-standing rural values of kindness, responsibility, and community service.

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