Local Agriculture Groups Join Forces Feb. 17 with Project to Combat Food Insecurity


WEBSTER COUNTY, MO – The Webster County Farm Bureau Board will host a collaborative leadership and food security project in partnership with Fordland FFA, Glendale FFA, Logan-Rogersville FFA, Mansfield FFA, Mighty Eagles 4-H Club and Seymour FFA, starting at 10 a.m. on Monday, February 17, at the Fordland High School, 1230 School Street, Fordland, Mo.

More than 60 youth and adults will work elbow to elbow to pack 10,000 meals that will be distributed to local food pantries and food security projects. This event will demonstrate and lead youth in community service while training them to recognize local needs and embolden youth to participate in collaborative neighborhood leadership.

“We have young and old working elbow to elbow to pack meals,” said Emma Alexander, project organizer and a graduate of MU Extension's Neighborhood Leadership Academy. “We want those kids to learn they can make a difference in their community and how to answer community needs.”

This event was inspired by the University of Missouri Extension’s Neighborhood Leadership Academy (NLA) and will serve as a Special Project for the county Farm Bureau Board this year.

This event celebrates National FFA Week, #4-H Feeding Missouri, and Thank a Farmer Week and is a part of the Missouri Farmers Care Drive to Feed Kids, which creates opportunities for all Missourians to make a difference in the fight against hunger.

Each collaborating partner group has monetarily invested to purchase meal packing supplies. Each 4-H and FFA group were awarded grants from the Drive to Feed Kids, funded by the Missouri Farmers Care Foundation. Each year these grants encourage and enable youth organizations to identify local community needs, craft solutions, and execute results.

Alexander said a single group couldn’t do this alone.

“By bringing in all these partners we’re going to reach from border to border of the county and even a little bit past because of these FFA chapters that are coming in to help us and by pooling our resource of time, we’ll be able to bless all of the food pantries in Webster County,” said Alexander.

She says the group is packing food that is a complete meal with dry pasta and soy protein, along with a packet of pasta sauce that can feed six people. The meals will be donated to 10 food pantries across Webster County and beyond.

University of Missouri Extension, and both the Webster and Green County MU Extension Councils, have financially supported this activity.

Members of the local media are welcome to join these groups.

For more information about the Drive to Feed Kids, visit www.mofarmerscare.com/drive.

For more information on the Neighborhood Leadership Academy visit the MU Extension website.

For additional information or inquiries about this project, please contact Emma Alexander at (text) 417-818-2743 or email: emma@mofarmerscare.com. 



Participants in the 2025 packing event.


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