We had an exciting last couple of weeks! On Monday we visited the Food Bank of Siouxland and the Culinary Arts Program at WITCC. At the Food Bank we learned about the food pantries that Siouxland provides food to, how the Food Bank sources their foods, and a little about how it runs. That day we toured the Culinary Arts Program at WITCC and got to ask questions about the program to one of the chefs. The facilities at WITCC were top notch and the faculty really want to see graduates succeed.
We traveled to the Mapleton Library on Tuesday to prepare a healthy snack for the Reading Program children! Joi and Ebere did a great job interacting with the children, telling them about healthy food choices, and showing them how to make the corn asparagus salad!
On Wednesday, we helped with the Grow With Us camp at the Woodbury office. The camp was about pollinators and the food groups. The children got to learn and assist Katelyn Brinkerhoff in the garden, and Laura Johnson taught them about the food groups. With the Woodbury Staff and Rising Stars assistance, the children prepared their lunch, including cutting vegetables and fruits, and made All Star Bites for their snack. The day was full of crafts like rock painting, making bird feeders that looked like bees, and planting grass seeds with their pictures on the front of the planter. Also, they watched the Bee Movie to learn how important pollinators are to our ecosystem. Overall, it was a fun filled day and the campers really enjoyed themselves!
Thursday, we had grant training with Abbie Gaffey and in the afternoon, we were busy asking businesses if they would want to be a part of this year’s Bike – N – Bite. We learned the basics of grant writing with Abbie Gaffey and all the grant opportunities that are out there for nonprofits. Then the afternoon was full of Joi, Ebere, and me traveling around downtown Sioux City to recruit businesses for the annual Bike – N – Bite event. We covered a lot of ground that afternoon and got some businesses locked in to be bite locations!
After a busy week, on Friday we finished up asking businesses if they would like to a part of Bike – N – Bite and did some housekeeping things around the office. We have several Bike – N – Bite locations set, and we asked a few new locations if they would like to participate!
Stay tuned to see the delicious locations later this month!
-Rebecca Wallace
Family and Consumer Sciences Education and Studies
Region 5