Kentucky Ag News

 

Harrison County FFA Raises Money to Pack 16,000 Meals for Impoverished Regions of Haiti

 

Special to Kentucky Agricultural News

 

CYNTHIANA, Ky. – On Saturday, November 11, 2017, there was not a tired eye in sight as volunteers happily and excitedly packed meals for impoverished regions of Haiti. For the second year, the Harrison County Agriculture Program and FFA Chapter hosted a Meal Packing Event.

 

This group has partnered with Lifeline Christian Mission for two years now in hosting this event. The group from Ohio packs meals and groups mission trips to areas of the world in need. The students in the Harrison County Agriculture Program and FFA raised over $4,000 to host this event.

The money was raised by a T-shirt selling campaign and individual donations, and a Living to Serve grant through National FFA. The T-shirts were designed by Abby Stroub, a sophomore in the Harrison County High School Agriculture Program. The T-shirts sold for $10 apiece, and each shirt helped to fund 21 meals. Approximately 400 T-shirts were sold.

On the day of the event, which was held at Harrison County Middle School, a little over 200 volunteers showed up to help pack the meals. This included many students from both the Harrison County middle and high school programs, as well as community members and chapters throughout the state. Additional FFA chapters that assisted in packing were Bourbon County, Owen County, and Scott County.

During the event, the volunteers packed roughly 16,000 meals in less than one hour. Similar to the years past, the HCHS FFA members selected Haiti to be the recipient of the meals. The meals are designed to fit into the Haitian people’s diets. The meals consisted of rice, dehydrated vegetables, soy, and a vitamin powder. Each meal is highly nutritious and will provide great nourishment to those who need it the most.

This amazing event has an impact on all of those involved, from those who facilitate the event, to the volunteers and especially for those who are the recipients of the meal. It is great to know that High School and Middle School students are taking initiative and truly Living to Serve in Harrison County.

 

This article was written by Annie Furnish, Harrison County FFA chapter president.