Courtesy of Clemson News
March 31, 2023
PELION, South Carolina — Raised by a single mother and having experienced homelessness as a youth, Teddy Tripp learned a thing or two about young people dealing with food insecurity.
And during a recent event at the Advanced Agribusiness Research Center at Pelion High School, Tripp helped coordinate a massive effort by young people around South Carolina to deal with food insecurity — in a very positive way — with nearly 200 FFA members packing more than 35,000 meals to be distributed to South Carolinians in need.
“Being an individual who came from a background when I was on the receiving end of those meals at one point when I was younger, I know what a lot of these kids in need are going through,” Tripp said. “So, for young people to take this time to be able to give back to maybe one of their friends or maybe a close relative or neighbor that these meals will impact, it speaks volumes for these young people to give up their time to be able to do this.”
Tripp is an event coordinator with Meals of Hope, a non-profit organization that partners with other organizations to fight food insecurity in the United States, operating food pantries in its home city of Naples, Fla., and hosting packaging events such as this one nationwide.
In this case, the March 23 event in the Midlands was aligned with FFA Day of Service, and South Carolina FFA members from across the state came together to focus on fulfilling a portion of the FFA motto, “living to serve,” as they partnered with Meals of Hope.
And not only did they meet their goal of 35,000 meals; they went above and beyond — packing 37,404 total meals that were set to be picked up the following morning and distributed to South Carolinians in need in Dillon, Florence, Marlboro, Hampton, Bamberg and Barnwell counties.
South Carolina FFA Executive Director Jillian Lash said that while local FFA chapters are often known for service they do in their own communities, this year’s Day of Service focused on making a larger impact on the statewide problem of food insecurity — meaning all 37,404 meals are staying in the state of South Carolina.
“Meals of Hope are doing outstanding work, and it seemed like a great opportunity for our FFA members to have that hands-on experience that Agricultural Education is known for: to putting their interest into helping their communities — and what better way than feeding them,” Lash said. “This has been a year in the making, a year of planning, so it’s amazing to finally see it today and finally see those students in there with their hairnets and working hard to make sure that those meals are ready for South Carolinians.”
And from Tripp’s perspective, knowing the difference that those meals can make in the lives of other young people around the state makes the work by these FFA members even more impactful.
“Ninety percent of the children who have perfect attendance in lower-income schools are children that are going without meals at home, because they know when they come to school, this may be the one or two meals that they get. So, with food insecurity, you’re asking a child to go without or be present in something and act like they are happy, when on the inside they don’t know how to control what’s going on. So, food insecurity is more than just something physical where a child must go without; it plays a huge role in the mental development and how it impacts that child, as well,” Tripp said.
The event was funded in part by a grant from National FFA for National Day of Service, as well as private grants and donations from around the state, and South Carolina FFA State President Drake Ariail said the packaging event epitomized key FFA values such as inclusivity and service.
“The beautiful thing about our organization is it’s for anybody — not just those from a farming background, which stood out to me because I don’t come from a farming background — and the FFA advocates for so much more than just agriculture. We advocate for leadership from people in our society, and that leadership carries over to our agricultural industry,” Ariail said. “The FFA’s name was changed … because we wanted everyone to know that the FFA welcomed all people.”
As Ariail alluded to, the letters “FFA” stand for Future Farmers of America — and are a part of its history and heritage that will never change — but FFA is not just for students who want to be production farmers; FFA also welcomes members who aspire to other careers, as well. Thus, the name of the organization was updated in 1988 after a vote of national convention delegates to reflect the growing diversity and new opportunities in the industry of agriculture.
Today, the National FFA Organization remains committed to the individual student, providing a path to achievement in premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. In South Carolina, FFA is the agricultural education component of youth development, which is offered and operated, along with South Carolina 4-H, by the Clemson Cooperative Extension Service.
In South Carolina FFA, the total membership in 2021-2022 was 9,985 members across 118 FFA chapters and 22 Middle school FFA programs. Nationally, there are more than 850,00 members in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Lauren Knight, South Carolina FFA State Vice President, who got involved in FFA as a freshman at Swansea High School and is now a freshman at Clemson University, said the Day of Service event was exactly the kind of work that the organization prides itself in doing.
“FFA’s motto is ‘learning to do, doing to learn, earning to live and living to serve,’ so in South Carolina we have always harped on that last little phrase — living to serve — so service is a big part of the FFA, whether that be on more of a local level or the statewide level like today,” she said. “And really, FFA is all about leadership and bringing those agriculture students into an area that they can flourish.”
Learn More about Meals of Hope
Ready to make a difference in your community? To learn more about Meals of Hope, read more here. To get you or your organization involved in our next meal packing event, fill out our form here. We can’t wait to hear from you!
IslaMarotta, 2 Marco Lake Drive, has been the place to be for Happy Hours for Hope, not once, but two months in a row, as owner Cindy Marotta hosted the February and March fundraisers for Meals of Hope. Supported by Sunrise Rotary, Noontime Rotary, and the Kiwanis Club of Marco Island, Meals of Hope raises funds to eliminate hunger in Collier County.
It was a good time for a good cause at the March event, as those in attendance danced to the sounds of Rosetta Stone, aka Kiwanian Rose Kraemer. We were even treated to some tunes sung by Rotarian/Kiwanian Mike Murphy! A delicious spread of appetizers provided by IslaMarotta, along with happy hour beverages, made the evening complete. A 50-50 drawing is always a major part of the fun and funds, and this event was no exception. The drawing was won by Rotarian/Kiwanian Jill Sandberg, who generously donated her winnings back to the cause.
Happy Hours for Hope raise funds for the purchase of raw food materials for the Meals of Hope packaging event in November. Admission to each Happy Hour is only $20, which is a donation to the cause.
The organization is also supported by Friends of Hope, special individuals and companies who have all donated at least $650 ($750 for businesses). We thank the Friends of Hope 2023:
All Event Party Rental
Condee Cooling and Electric
Traute Gentry
Tom Menaker
Law Office of William G. Morris, P.A.
Dennis and Joan Pidherny
Robert and Donna Reiley
Jim and Allyson Richards
Arne and Jill Sandberg
Jacki Strategos
Robert and Catherine Thomas
Learn More about Meals of Hope
Ready to make a difference in your community? To learn more about Meals of Hope, read more here. To get you or your organization involved in our next meal packing event, fill out our form here. We can’t wait to hear from you!
Students who are part of Crest High’s Future Farmers of America recently tackled hunger in Cleveland County and packaged more than 50,000 meals for those in need.
Last month, the Crest FFA chapter coordinated with “Meals of Hope” to package the meals at Poplar Springs Baptist Church, with help from volunteers from local FFA chapters and other local organizations.
Crest FFA Member, Michael Callahan, became interested in the effort after attending the Washington Leadership Conference last summer. The conference is conducted by the National FFA Organization and focuses on helping build leadership skills that translate into increased service for the local community. Callahan is the vice president for the Crest FFA Chapter and served as the chairperson for the “Crest FFA Feeds Cleveland County” committee that coordinated the project.
Callahan said that the project is “a great way to build community through service.”
The packaged meals were provided to schools throughout Cleveland County using the school social workers. Additionally, meals are also available through a partnership with the Greater Cleveland County Baptist Association.
The food is non-perishable and shelf stable, aiding in the availability of the meals to help those that need them the most. Funding for this project was acquired by student members contacting local sponsors and receiving support and donations. Volunteers were provided lunch on the day of the event sponsored by Poplar Springs Baptist Church and the Runway Cafe.
The Crest FFA Chapter has 238 students members and is part of the North Carolina FFA Association, a youth organization of 32,597 student members preparing for leadership and careers in the science, business, and technology of agriculture. FFA’s mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.
Learn More about Meals of Hope
Ready to make a difference in your community? To learn more about Meals of Hope, read more here. To get you or your organization involved in our next meal packing event, fill out our form here. We can’t wait to hear from you!
It’s rare to find a student who fully exemplifies the attributes leadership, dedication, and academics, but Warrenton High School student Grace Schlansker may be that student.
Schlansker is an officer for Warrenton’s FFA Club, and co-led the club’s recent Meals of Hope campaign, which fundraised and packaged 20,000 meal servings to be distributed to local food pantries. She is also a high-performing student who plans to graduate high school with two-year’s-worth of college credits.
Schlansker is currently enrolled in college-level classes in accounting, sociology, literature, algebra, animal science, art appreciation and anthropology.
“My goal is to be able to have most of my general education credits out of the way. As I sit right now, I already have 40 credit hours. I’ll be pretty much a junior when I go into college,” Schlansker noted. “I want to be a vet, and I want to reduce my time as much as possible. If I have the drive right now to work like that, hopefully it will help me in the long run.”
Schlansker is relatively new to Warrenton, having moved schools in her junior year from Timberland in Wentzville. She explained that she joined FFA because she wanted to be on the club’s trapshooting team, but that it turned out to be a school community where she was supported and encouraged to become more involved.
“I found that I love it a lot, and want to keep being involved,” Schlansker commented.
Q: What did you do to help plan Meals of Hope?
“We were in charge of the logistics of how many sponsors each student needed to get … and we picked a date and decided the logistics (for meal packing). In order to get the word out, we made fliers and each student got those. And then I was interviewed on the radio and spoke there about it.”
Q: What other FFA activities are you involved in?
“I’m the assistant historian, so I’m currently working on the scrapbook that records all of our events for the year.”
Q: Is it tough to manage all your college classes and activities?
“There are some days where it definitely is challenging. I call those ‘dance it out’ kind of days, where you just dance just because it’s too much, so you just sit there and dance for a bit.”
Q: How do you stay organized?
“I’m definitely a list person.”
Q: Does anything else help you balance everything?
“It sounds weird, but being able to work. At work at a vet clinic in Wentzville. And I have my own animals … just being out there with them and feeding them at morning and night is a stress reliever.”
Q: Where are you going to college?
“The University of Missouri — Mizzou.”
Q: Is there any advice that you would give to younger students?
“Find your passion and run with it. That’s pretty cliche, but it holds true.
“Then my second piece of advice would be that even if you’re not super excited about the classes you’re in now … it will get better. Once you find something you love, it will be great.”
Favorite food: Fruit Favorite movie: “The Notebook” Favorite show: “Gilmore Girls” Favorite music: Older country music Favorite destination: My grandparents’ cottage in Chautauqua, Illinois
Learn More about Meals of Hope
Ready to make a difference in your community? To learn more about Meals of Hope, read more here. To get you or your organization involved in our next meal packing event, fill out our form here. We can’t wait to hear from you!
LOUISA COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) — Instead of taking the day off from school, Louisa County Public Schools students came together to package meals for the Local Resource Council.
A day like this is a part of Louisa County’s Asynchronous day program, where students volunteer at various places across the county to make a difference on their day off.
“What makes these days so impactful is that we get to serve our community, we get to model giving back, and we actually get to learn outside the classroom,” said Heather Spaid, the director of elementary education for LCPS.
On this Asynchronous day, 300 students packaged macaroni and cheese meals, in partnership with Meals of Hope.
Each student had a special role, ranging from pouring the macaroni to sealing the bag to making boxes. They worked together and packaged more than 5,000 meals, which fit into more than 100 boxes. Each box also contained a positive handwritten note.
“I think that community events should be a part of the curriculum. I would love the Virginia Department of Education to adopt days like this, so that we can continue to teach our children they’re not too little to give back,” Spaid added.
Doing something as small as packaging food helps students realize the difference they are able to make in their community.
“You know our asynchronous days are all about providing community service opportunities for our students, families to come out, and give back to the community,” said LCPS Superintendent Doug Straley. “And Louisa is a really special place to be able to give back to your community is so important. And helping these students understand the importance is what these days are all about.”
The next asynchronous day will take place in February, and the school division plans to package another 5,000 meals and continue making a difference in the lives of people in the community.
Learn More about Meals of Hope
Ready to make a difference in your community? To learn more about Meals of Hope, read more here. To get you or your organization involved in our next meal packing event, fill out our form here. We can’t wait to hear from you!
NAPLES, Fla. — In honor of the first week of 2023, More Explores has dedicated the week to popular New Year’s resolutions!
If you are looking to volunteer more in 2023, Meals of Hope in Naples is always looking for volunteers.
They have several ways that volunteers can help. Monday through Friday, Meals of Hope provides food for food pantries across Lee and Collier Counties. These food pantries need to be manned by volunteers to distribute the food!
They also need volunteers to make bags of dry goods to distribute daily!
Learn More about Meals of Hope
Ready to make a difference in your community? To learn more about Meals of Hope, read more here. To get you or your organization involved in our next meal packing event, fill out our form here. We can’t wait to hear from you!
