Help students understand where their food comes from and develop an appreciation for farmers, producers, and families involved in the farm-to-table process. This program will support various ag-based educational activities delivered in an in-school setting. Educators can select the academic content that best fits their locality in consultation with Extension and school-based educators in your Unit, or you can borrow from existing 4-H resources. Each program site will also receive a budget to help cover costs for the program materials and curriculum which you determine will best suit your needs. Delivery to youth can be conducted by 4-H staff/volunteers with the assistance of Teen Teachers.
Supported Curricular Resources –
Illinois 4-H has a variety of educational resources related to food production and agriculture that are available for your use. These can be found on the Shop 4-H site under Plants, Gardening, and Agriculture Curriculum: https://shop4-h.org/collections/plants-gardening-agriculture-curriculum
Alternatively, there are many good resources available from 4-H partner organizations that you can pull from based on your assessment of the learning needs in your area. Budgetary support will be available for whichever curricular approach you choose.
Key Concepts
- Agriculture
- Animals
- Biological Science
- Communication
- Embryology
- Environment
- Food Advocacy
- Foods & Nutrition
- Healthy Living
- Leadership
- Local Foods
- Plant Science
- Poultry
- Technology & Engineering
For Youth Grades 3-8; In School and After School Programs
- Learn about plant science basics while increasing an appreciation of Illinois agriculture
- Engage high school students in the process of leading and teaching activities to younger audiences
- Promote an understanding of basic conservation principles and how they relate to food production
- Expose young people to new and nutritious food choices as well as college and career opportunities in Ag
- Strengthen their understanding of where their food comes from through hands-on learning
Many 4-H staff who work with this program will engage older audiences (high school) through the Teen-Teacher model by which the high schoolers have an opportunity to gain leadership, communication, and classroom management skills by teaching ag-focused lessons to younger audiences. Please indicate if you plan to pursue this in your registration so we can get you connected with a cohort of other 4-H staff taking this approach.
CROSS-EXTENSION, CAMPUS, AND COMMUNITY COLLABORATORS
- Horticulture, Small Farms/Local Foods Educators and SNAP-Ed Educators
- Community and civic organizations
- In-School and After-School programs
- IL Farm Bureau
- Illinois Ag in the Classroom Coordinators