What do you think of when you hear vanishing resources? You may have said water, coal, oil, or natural gas, but in the mind of Hayley Hines, Kansas FFA Vice-President, the most prominent one is food. You may think that food isn’t a vanishing resource, so did Hines, until 2020, when she watched a clip from CBS News addressing food insecurity and children going hungry. After watching the report, Hines took a closer look at those around her, this is when she realized that there are people around her going hungry.
At the time, Hines was a freshman at Paola High School in Paola, Kansas, just beginning her FFA and SAE journey. Seeing those hungry around her, Hines couldn’t stand by, she felt the need to act, and she worked with her advisor and school councilors to brainstorm ways to address this issue. Ultimately, Hines decided to create a community food pantry “Panthers Helping Panthers” This pantry was introduced just after the COVID-19 lockdowns, with more people working from home and staying home, which Hines partially credits to its popularity, along with modern-day inflation.
You may find yourself questioning; How does this relate to Agriculture? Hines herself has faced this question many times, she states, “Anything can relate to agriculture, in the end, anything and everything connects to agriculture,” for this SAE, Hines strategically planned a collaboration between, FFA (specifically the Animal Science Class,) the community, and her school, ensuring that all students and families have food to put on the table. “I worked closely with my school councilors to ensure that students had easy, anonymous access to food” Hines continued, “I planned this with our animal science class as well, so they would raise animals, get experience with vaccinating, working, and caring for livestock, this not only gave our animal science students experience, but created a local food supply for me.” Hines also created an anonymous online form that can be filled out and place an order for food which will be filled and placed in the pantry, all anonymously, “I think people are afraid to admit they need help, by creating this form and doing this anonymously, people were and will continue to use the food pantry, and not be afraid to do so” Hines stated.
Hines credits her school counselors and works with local civic organizations for the success of this SAE, Hines spoke with P.E.O. Sisterhood (Philanthropic Educational Organization), Rotary Club, and other area business partners. Hines mentioned the scholarship opportunities offered by working with these civic groups, “I received three scholarship opportunities just by partnering with civic groups for my SAE.”
Hines credits her SAE to her college and career choice, “This project has directly impacted my choices such as my college double major of Health and Nutrition and Nursing, specifically CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist)” She encourages others to “find your passion and find a way to relate it to agriculture.”
Currently, Hines has earned National FFA SAE Grants for this project, along with proficiency awards on the chapter, district, and state, and is currently a finalist for the National Proficiency Awards this fall. She encourages all members to find their interests and get involved within the organization.
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