Walter Suza, adjunct associate professor of agronomy, collaborated with Erin Todey, assistant director of the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program at Iowa State, to lead the George Washington Carver Future Hunger Fighters Program. As part of the program, Iowa high school students will write essays identifying hunger-related challenges in their community and propose solutions. Winning teams will receive funding to implement their ideas.
Collin Reichert, Ames High School science teacher and advisor of the Students Helping to Eliminate Poverty and Hunger Club (SHEPH), said that of the students he interacted with, some were intimidated by the idea of actually putting their thoughts into action.
“A lot of them thought there was tremendous value in this kind of work and the fact that there were actual funds afforded to their plans and their ideas,” Reichert said.
“It kind of lent the seriousness to their work that they’re not used to having in school. The stuff they do is typically for audiences that are within the school. It’s not working with people outside of the school, and there’s usually no follow through on benefits, so I think they were excited about doing some real-world work.” Reichert said.
Students are exploring different approaches, from launching educational campaigns to expanding food collection efforts at grocery stores. Many students also volunteer at Food At First, a soup kitchen at the First Christian Church in Ames.
“They provide meals to people in the community, and at least one group in SHEPH is trying to work with them to see about what kind of improvements could be made in their operations, what kind of problems they see within, trying to do their work already, and how they are those could be alleviated to kind of streamline the process so they’re supposed to be of service to existing organizations, and then that’s where their creativity should be applied, in my view as an educator,” Reichert said.
Reichert added that Suza visited Ames High School, and they had a rice and bean dinner to raise awareness about how a lot of the world eats the kind of food that they are eating.
“Dr. Suza shared his experience in Africa working with the United Nations on hunger-related work. I think that was really impactful for a lot of students to hear him take his personal experience on it,” Reichert said. “I think a lot of students found that motivating. The collaboration with the George Washington Carver Foundation has been phenomenal for students to get a broader understanding of hunger.”
Reichert emphasized that combating hunger is not solely an international issue.
“One of the focuses of the Future Hunger Fighters Program is to raise awareness about local food insecurity, and I think the collaboration with local efforts to address our food insecurity within the Ames community is going to definitely open kids’ eyes,” Reichert said. “I think they’re already volunteering at Food At First on a monthly basis, so they see members of the community who are food insecure and need these services and depend on these services.”
Beyond addressing hunger, Reichert sees the program as a powerful tool for personal development.
“There’s this character development. I think that’s coming from this where we see all humans as humans, and I think that it’s important to not establish divisions and to see our fellow brothers and sisters, often in different settings, from different backgrounds. I think making sure that we’re not isolated from just people who are like us is an important thing. Students are definitely getting that, and I think that will develop personal character,” Reichert said.
Academically, the program moves beyond theoretical learning.
“I think this is not just an abstract idea that students have to propose in these essays. They have to actually see some of the complexities related to hunger and poverty, which are very complex issues, and if the solutions were easy, maybe we would have already taken care of them,” Reichert said. “So, realizing that the complexity of these real-world problems forces them to think creatively and to adjust to setbacks, to persevere through setbacks. I think that is probably one of the most impactful things.”
“We’re not just learning in the abstract. And they don’t have to learn a concept and then apply it to a new situation,” Reichert said. “They’re learning how to apply their knowledge, just in the very act of trying to make these essays actually have a valid idea that can be acted upon and hopefully funded. George Washington Carver foundation would provide funding to students’ ideas, and so they have to allocate monies. They have to think about how if they were given a certain budget, ‘what would you do with that money? What would be the best use of it to maximize the impact?'”
Reichert added that the students’ work has brought $10,000 to reduce student lunch debt at Ames High School for their classmates, friends, and people they already know.
“They’re seeing local impacts already with their work in this field. I think it’s the first year that this program has launched. We’re kind of a pilot, and the hope is to spread this around Iowa to more schools,” Reichert said. “Once these plans become materialized, and some of them hopefully funded, then students will really have this takeaway of putting effort, dedicated effort towards good causes, and thinking creatively to address problems can have benefits on people, and my actions count. I think that is a really important message to send young people in today’s world, that their opinions, values, and efforts matter in the world.”
Reichert said he would like to see this program expand to more high schools in the future.
“I think that’s a pretty good level of involvement. It could grow a bit, it could be a little bit less, but as long as it’s continuing, it is an issue that’s not going to be going away anytime soon.” Reichert said.
Reichert added that he loves troubleshooting with students when they propose ideas, brainstorming how to address them, and taking the next steps.
“From my point of view, let the students be the ones who take the action. I’m serving as a guide to help them foresee things that they might not foresee, and then they have to take the steps to implement the actions.” Reichert said.
Reichert would like to send the message that he thinks he is finding a lot of value as a teacher.
“There are a lot of things that I learned, too, by working with some of the wonderful faculty at Iowa State University,” Reichert said. “So I would hope to see more collaboration of Iowa State students, Iowa State faculty, and the Ames High Community School district. I think really good things happen when we work together.”
