.png)
Ted Pender with Staci Waters holding the book “Full of Beans” that they donated to every elementary school media center in August 2020.
Since its inception in 1937, Georgia Farm Bureau’s grassroots, membership-based federation has helped farmers, promoted farm products, advocated for, and provided leadership to our community. Barrow County’s Farm Bureau carried this mission a giant step forward by becoming a Partner in Education with 13 schools and programs in the Barrow County School System.
Barrow County Farm Bureau representatives like Staci Waters, Ted Pender, Boyd McLocklin, and others have visited countless BCSS classrooms providing engaging, hands-on agriculture experiences and sharing about career opportunities. Providing agricultural opportunities for Barrow students has continued virtually this year with the donation of books, resources, and gardening materials. They also promote excellence and student achievement through their sponsorship of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) programs in our middle and high schools and with their corporate sponsorship of AHS and WBHS athletic programs.
Thanks to the commitment of Barrow's Farm Bureau in promoting agriculture throughout the district, almost every school and program in the county has a school garden. For many students, the school garden is their first exposure to agriculture and growing their own food. In a bold collaboration between the Barrow Farm Bureau and the BCSS School Nutrition Program, vegetables grown in school gardens now go from the school garden to the school serving lines in the cafeteria.
Barrow County’s Farm Bureau is a leader in community agricultural initiatives as well. They are a founding member of the Farm to School Booster Club. They have also been instrumental in working collaboratively to bring the Farmer’s Market to Barrow. With Farm Bureau’s emphasis on serving the community, they are positively influencing the next generation of farmers, AG industry leaders, and business owners in and for Barrow County.
Today, the average US farmer feeds 155 people, and in 1960, a farmer fed just 26 people. America’s farm families grow more than just our food. If you ate today, thank a farmer! A special thank you to Barrow County Farm Bureau for your leadership, dedication, and investment of time and resources in BCSS youth in our classrooms, schools, and community. In the wise words of Franklin D. Roosevelt, “we cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”
Representative Terry England, Staci Waters, and Superintendent Chris McMichael at the Farm to School Booster Annual Dinner in February 2020.
Staci Waters teaches elementary school children about school gardening and the importance of agriculture.