South Warren High School FFA program receives grant for project
WARREN COUNTY, Ky. – Kentucky schools are being recognized by the Kentucky Future Farmers of America program for their efforts on community education through agriculture.
“Our grant that we decided to focus on was Hatching Hope,” said Robin Dalton, an agriculture teacher at South Warren High School.
South Warren High School’s Future Farmers of America program has been selected by the Kentucky FFA Foundation to receive a $1,500 grant from the Better Days, Better Ways initiative.
Funded by the Mulhollem Cravens Foundation, the grant offers support for student-led projects in agriculture. Dalton said this not just equips them with knowledge but presents opportunities to serve others.
“We will be taking the finished birds that we hatch here, and we will be processing them for families that are in need,” Dalton said.
He said this also helps show students the farm-to-table aspect of agriculture. Right now, the students are preparing to hatch their own chickens in class.
“We wanted to teach students about food security and how that’s important to them in today’s society. Many of our students don’t realize where their food comes from and we thought it’s very important to tell them about that and show them about how it’s processed and done,” he said.
Dalton said teaching by experience is an essential piece in the program.
“Especially getting to know local farmers, getting to know people in the community, that’s one of the ways they’re learning things,” he said.
The extra funds for the Hatching Hope Program provide students with more resources to expand the project.
“The grant will be used to supply feed. It will also be used to supply things like feeders and equipment that we need for those individual birds,” the teacher said.
Once the birds are hatched, they will be processed by local companies and given to families who are in need.
If you would like to support the South Warren High School FFA program, you can reach out to their school to donate or keep up to date on their Instagram @SouthWarrenFFA.
