posted on Wednesday, December 22, 2021
Hats off to the Iowa River FFA Chapter at Garner-Hayfield-Ventura CSD for their tremendous service to the community!
Iowa River FFA was one of almost 50 student-based organizations that participated in the Ignite the Spirit program offered by Iowa Select Farms and the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation.
These students made Christmas meal baskets to donate pork loins to their local food bank after talking with staff to identify their needs. They used the supplementary funds from the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation to buy instant mashed potatoes, canned corn and canned green beans. This is the second year the chapter has taken on this project and they’ve gotten great feedback from the food bank and the families it serves both times!
Ignite the Spirit is an extension of the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation’s Operation Christmas Meal program and is aimed at increasing awareness of hunger locally and igniting the spirit of service by giving local student groups the tools—pork!—to help even more families during the holiday season.
As part of the program, FFA chapters and 4-H clubs also receive event kits with aprons and masks along with a check for $250 to purchase additional food for the meal.