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As we celebrate National FFA Week, McDonald’s of Indiana is proud to salute the next generation of farmers throughout the Hoosier State.
“[The McDonald’s system] purchases over $29 million worth of quality ingredients from Indiana farmers,” according to Jonathan Terhune, who owns and operates three McDonald’s restaurants across east-central Indiana in Anderson, Union City, and Winchester.
Terhune is also a third-generation McDonald’s owner-operator. His grandfather opened one of the first McDonald’s franchise locations in Indiana back in 1958 in Muncie. That location at 500 E. Charles Street, still has the original “Speedy” McDonald’s sign from 1958 in front of the restaurant. Jonathan’s father, as well as his brother, Nick, are also McDonald’s owner-operators.
McDonald’s has long been a supporter of Indiana’s farmers and the ag industry.
“The numbers are pretty staggering—with eight million gallons of milk, 13 million pounds of pork, and over 12 million pounds of sugar all sourced from our Indiana farmers and suppliers,” says Terhune.
He says that McDonald’s is also a supporter of the local community. What better way to show that support than by working with local farmers.
“[We have] a lot of respect for our farmers,” says Terhune. “They are always out there morning, noon, and night—and we see them coming through our restaurants morning, noon, and night. It’s exciting to know when you’re going to work in the morning or heading home at night and you see those farmers out there, it’s exciting to know that what they’re doing on their farms is coming right into our restaurants and being served to our customers. It’s exciting to see the whole circle of how everybody works together between farmers, suppliers, and the restaurants, to make everything connect together.”
Much like Indiana’s farmers and future farmers, Terhune says McDonald’s shares in that family connection.
“McDonald’s truly is locally owned and operated,” he says. “Everybody sees the McDonald’s logo out there and knows that that’s a global brand, but each local restaurant—just like a majority, if not all local farms—are run by families and individuals who are just really passionate about what they do. It’s not just McDonald’s that’s a family business, but we know a lot of our farms and our future farmers that are coming along, a lot of them are family businesses, too.”
McDonald’s of Indiana says thank you, Indiana farmers. And they’re proud to salute the next generation of agriculture throughout National FFA Week.
