(by Don Meador, The Citizen-Times, April 29, 2021)
A partnership between a local farm, culinary arts students at Allen County-Scottsville High School, students with the 21st Century Afterschool Program and members of the community has grown into a project that is helping senior citizens enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables.
Today, the Food Box program---started last fall when 21st Century Debra Rigsby received a $500 grant from the Youth Services of America, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation---is helping senior citizens with fresh fruits and vegetables. The box---stocked with fresh vegetables, snacks, and a drink---represents what can be accomplished by community partners working together, building on ideas, and looking at the greater community need.
Once the grant was received, Rigsby turned to Need More Acres owner and operator Michelle Howell. The two collectively developed a plan in which students in the 21st Century program could volunteer their time to help grow fruits and vegetables with the intent to use the finished products for a Food Box program.
“We are so grateful for the Youth Service of America helping provide the start up for this project,” Rigsby said. “The student learning throughout this process has been amazing and our partnership with Need More Acres is an amazing example of how a community comes together to provide for its people.”
The path to where the program stands was birthed as an extension of Need More Acres years of involvement with the local school district. Need More Acres farm has worked with the Allen County Food Service Department in recent years to introduce all Allen County students to homegrown fruits and vegetables. In addition, the farm’s owners Michelle and Nathan Howell, have opened their doors to hundreds of students in the past half-decade.
“For about six years we have welcomed high school freshman to the farm for field trips,” Howell explained. “Last year with COVID, the freshman were unable to come. We found a way to partner with a few students in a small group, socially distanced way. A few students started coming last fall and helped us make small side salads that were sent home in the feeding program. It worked so well that we decided to expand that. Since then students have been coming each week and preparing snacks for the CORE each week. We do 50 snacks. We also have been bringing 100 units to the high school for the culinary arts program.”
AC-SH students Katherine Foster, Jae McReynolds, Colby Sewell, Matthew Cartwright, and Elizabeth Howell were among the first students to work with the farm. Others have joined in the effort.
After Rigsby received the grant, she reached out to Howell to help her 21st Century students become involved. Under the provisions of the grant, at least 50 students had to volunteer their time to work in a project that benefited the community. Given what the farm and the AC-S students were already doing, incorporating the kids into the effort was a natural fit.
Since February, Rigsby has taken students---10 or fewer each time---to the farm once a week to volunteer their time. The other students continued to journey to Need More Acres on their own to both volunteer and work part-time, helping the Howell in their greenhouse “tunnels”.
“We limited our numbers to 10 due to COVID guidelines,” Rigsby said. “We have been six times. A lot of the community members would also meet us out there to help.”
The kids did learn a lot in their participation.
“They learned about food prep, working together, and how a community need can be met,” Rigsby. “Students learned about working together without overworking yourself.”
The next step in the program was to connect the work of the students with the community.
“We decided that we would connect the work the high schoolers were doing with the elderly in the community,” Howell said. “They had been experiencing isolation in pandemic and we saw them as having a need.”
Using produce from the farm---and additional items supplied by farming partners---the Food Boxes started coming together. Items included in the box---prepared by 21st Century students---include Hogue’s Farm whole wheat bread, Chaney’s strawberry milk, kale, potatoes, carrots, onion, apples (supplied by the Mennonites) and Lovee and Rose Flowers.
Last week, the co-op students and the 21st Century program connected with the local Extension office for the final first step of the Food Box program.
“Nancy Owens helped us to get people to deliver,” Rigsby said. “Community action also helped as well as other local businesses. We also put a recipe card in the box to help people prepare.
As a way to better organized, the parties involved have formed an official Co-Op called the Farming, Culinary Arts and Community Organized Co-op.
“We hosted our first socially distanced and masked event on the farm March 16,” Howell explained. “A small group of Allen County Scottsville high schoolers, teachers, and a few other small-scale farmers came together. What started on Zoom finally turned into real life farm experiences that was the distribution of fresh food to senior citizens in Allen County last week.”
The group will work together going forward and will have a strong connection with the school.
"Our plan is that high school programs will oversee the program, have boxes for sale, for every boxes sold, we will donate a box," Howell said.
The student and community involvement is a win-win for all participants.
“I think for the younger students this has opened up new things that they may not have known about,” Howell added. “With the older students, this is a great resume builder. It’s also providing a unique educational experience. The ones involved with the Co-Op go to meetings as well as learning how the farm experience that includes hard work on the farm, learning how to prep healthy fruits and vegetables. Its also forming a connection with the elderly.”
For the students involved as part of the 21st Century program, their involvement with soon end in terms of the time frame for the grant to be used. Still, Rigsby believes that students participating in the 21st Century program will continue to be involved in some way with the farm as the 21st Century school programs grows. However, the Food Box project is just beginning.
“We’ve been asked so many times, “how can we get some of this fresh, healthy food?” noted Howell. “The high schoolers in the co-op are going to make that happen.”
The high school co-op students, working with Need More Acres Farm, will deliver $20 worth of fresh, local food every Friday on behalf of community partners within the Scottsville city limits. Local participants can pay $80 a month (starting in May) to receive four fresh food box's which will be delivered every Friday in May to someone in need. Businesses will also have an option to continue their partnership through October. Participating businesses can cancel anytime. For every Farm Box purchased, Need More Acres farm will donate a Farm Box to a local household in need.
Sample Farm Box items will include 1/2 dozen egg (or other protein), one loaf Hogue Farm Bread, 1/2 gallon Chaney's Milk, local flowers, three seasonal vegetables, and one specialty vegetable.
For more information, contact Contact Michelle Howell for more information: [email protected]