UBI Donates to Siouxland Agriculture in the Classroom
United Bank of Iowa recently donated $2,500 to Siouxland Agriculture in the classroom. As Iowa's #1 Ag Bank, agriculture in rural communities is important to us. This donation supports our commitment to many of those agricultural communities that we serve. On hand for the presentation was Roger Bumann, representing Siouxland Agriculture in the Classroom, and managers from the following United Bank of Iowa offices: Wendy Lorenzen, Arthur; Matt Fitzpatrick, Anthon; Jean Burns, Ida Grove; Will Riley, Galva; Whitney Reimers, Moorhead.
The following information is provided by Siouxland Agriculture in the Classroom:
In rural Iowa, we are surrounded by agriculture and its impact on America's economy every day, yet many children in our region are still unsure of the origin of their food. Its' not uncommon for today's youth to believe chocolate milk is produced by brown cows - or ever more surprising - the grocery store. This growing issue becomes more apparent as each day passes. Thus, Siouxland Agriculture in the Classroom was created.
A group of individuals who saw the need for increased agriculture education came together to create a non-profit organization to address this issue. We work to lessen the gap between producer and consumer that is so prominent in today's society. Students in the area school systems should have the opportunity to learn where their food comes from and interact with individuals involved directly with the agriculture industry. These youth are America's future buyers, voters, and influencers. We need them to be knowledgeable of modern agriculture.
We have developed programs to implement agriculture into schools in a seven-county area, and we work to make agriculture a regular part of teachers' curricula. We not only provide classroom lesson plans for instructors, but are also a resource for presentations and in-class activities.
Meredith Clymer is the Director for this organization, and Heather Collins serves as Agriculture Education Specialist. Their passion for agriculture and education is obvious if you meet them. Their belief that the job isn't done until every single child knows where their food comes from drives the organization's success. In the three years since the organization was formed, over 40,000 individuals have been reached with our message, and the program continues to grow each year.