Washington FFA feeds farmers

WASHINGTON — Members of the high school FFA program brought meals to ag producers around the area this harvest season, with FFA Advisor Barry Clough saying the students delivered 120 bagged lunches on Aug. 30 and Oct. 7.

“Harvest Meals was a way we could give back to the farmers in the community, just by trying to make their life a little easier around lunchtime,” Clough said. “We made sack lunches, took them out into the field, and tried to catch people out in the fields combining, running grain carts, things like that. We just passed them out to whoever we could find out in the fields.”

While the work was important, it was time consuming. Clough said students spent several hours on both Fridays making the food and driving in different directions to seek out hungry farmers. Still, he said the kids enjoyed it.

“Driving around finding people took some time, and a lot of kids had to donate their gas money, basically, to deliver them,” he said. “Who doesn’t enjoy getting out of a partial day of school to go deliver meals? … But because we’re early out on Fridays, a lot of them ended up staying longer than what they would have if they had stayed at school.”

Additionally, the ag teacher said it was beneficial for the students, taking the communication skills prized by FFA and employing them outside the classroom.

“They have to talk to these guys that are out in the field, or gals,” Clough said. “They have to be able to tell them what the group is, why they’re doing it, because a lot of them are wondering, ‘Why is there somebody pulling in my field?’”

Clough said it was worth the effort, and kept farm families on track at the busiest time of year.

“We know that when they’re out in the field, very few of them stop for lunch, they’re usually trying to keep going if it’s fit, weather-wise,” he said. “So it’s a lot easier just to get the meals out in the fields. And then whoever has to deliver their meals to them … they have to take time off work. It’s easier than taking off out of a combine to go grab lunch for everybody that’s in the field.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com