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Ag Sack Lunch program provides 4th graders ways to know where food comes from

A program for urban and rural communities in Nebraska helps fourth grade students understand where their food comes form.

Grace McDonald, an ag ambassador with the Ag Sack Lunch Program, tells Brownfield the presentations breakdown misconceptions.  “What a chicken is, they don’t even know they have ears or that brown cows do not produce chocolate milk, that kind of idea.”

The in-person program provides a free lunch to students who tour the State Capitol Building. While they eat their lunches, students hear a presentation about the important role agriculture plays in Nebraska’s economy, as well as the crops and livestock species that are raised in the state.

McDonald says after the presentation most students have a better understanding of agriculture. “What they do with that information could be anything form simply telling their parents like “hey, can we have some tofu maybe? That’s made from soybeans.  I learned that in my presentation or maybe they want to be an agriculture expert.”

McDonald says the program is open to all schools across the state, but the focus is Omaha and Lincoln.

Registrations are open for in-person and virtual presentations. Since the first Ag Sack Lunch program during the 2010-2011 school year, over 49,134 students have participated in the event

Grace McDonald: