Hunger Helpers

The West Central Ag Ed Greenhouse is filling up fast.  Over 1,500 vegetable plants are currently green and growing.  West Central FFA members and Ag Ed students are nurturing the plants so that they can bring you vigorous plants later this spring.

Potting mix is carefully packed into containers before plants are transplanting vegetable plants.

Students transplant pepper seedlings.

A variety of other vegetables and herbs will also be available through the Hunger Helpers grant.  Plants will be ready to be picked up and planted in your garden on May 17, 2012.  Come to the greenhouse any time during the day to make your selection.

The West Central FFA chapter has been awarded $2500 as part of the inaugural FFA:  Food For All program. The nationwide program provides grant money to local FFA chapters to support year-long service-learning projects focused on developing and implementing sustainable hunger relief projects.

The West Central FFA plans to help fight hunger by implementing several projects.  Providing vegetable plants for family gardens with the understanding that extra produce grown by families will be donated to a local food pantry, the senior citizens center or the school lunch program.  Secondly, planning and implementing a back pack program to provide nutritional weekend meals for children who qualify for free or reduced lunch in the school district.   With 27% of the K-12 student population qualifying for free or reduced lunch, hunger is a problem in our community.  We hope that our activities will increase awareness about hunger in our state and community.

The FFA: Food For All grant program is administered by the National FFA Organization, with funding provided by Farmers Feeding the World and the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. The program provided $330,000 to FFA chapters in 41 states. More information about the program can be found at www.FFA.org/foodforall.

Stay tuned to the Hunger Helpers website for more information as plans are made and implementation begins.

Welcome to Hunger Helpers!

The Hunger Helpers initiative is the result of a grant received from the National FFA Organization, Howard G. Buffet Foundation and Farmers Feed the World.  The grant is a Living 2 Serve project.  FFA Chapters in 41 states were awarded Food For All grants during early 2012.

Stay tuned to this page for Hunger Helpers news and events.