Harlan FFA Seniors Conduct Food for America Program

    HARLAN -- Two Harlan FFA seniors recently worked to improve the agricultural literacy of Harlan Community Schools’ preschool through fifth grade students.
    Reanna Obrecht and Julia Schechinger conducted the Food for America program, which is an educational program that focuses on teaching young people about agriculture and connects FFA members with their community.    
    Fourteen classes were visited during the program which included: Newcomb, Andersen, Brummer, (kindergarten), Petsche (1st grade), Sonderman, Curren, Christensen (2nd grade), A. Schmitz, Leinen, Kiesel (3rd grade), Burmeister, Bjoin (4th grade), Stein, Juhl (5th grade).
    The FFA members visited the classes over the month of April and May. Topics and activities covered in the primary classrooms (K-2) were plant needs, agriculture product distribution, and contents of soil.
    Topics and activities covered in the intermediate classes (3-4) were food processing, natural resources, and origination of grocery store products.
    Reanna Obrecht planned lessons and visited a majority of the classrooms. Classroom visits were scheduled based on teacher interest in the program and time availability.
    All of the Harlan Community Preschool classes also visited the greenhouse twice to learn about what plants need to grow. They were able to see the plants when they were in the beginning growth stages, and the plants right before the plant sale.
    The Food for America Program is a program that Harlan FFA has conducted for several years. Seniors and elementary students have expressed that they enjoyed interacting with each other and changing the normal daily routine.
    Elementary teachers noted that they have enjoyed seeing the young and older students interact. They also appreciated that the Food for America Program curriculum enhanced topics they were already teaching in the classroom.