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By Alex Freeman, MCC Communications Coordinator

In what has become an annual tradition, MCC Agriculture Club students gathered��at��the Woodside Café on Nov. 5 to pack��Harvest Food Baskets.��

The students worked together, dividing and conquering to swiftly pack 25 baskets with several food items that would illuminate a table for a Thanksgiving meal. Items packed into the baskets included chickens, apples, potatoes, onions, stuffing, chicken broth, muffin��mix��and more. Much of the food was locally sourced, including apples from AB Orchards in Sparta, donated courtesy of MCC��freshman��Logan Anderson.��

“My family owns the apple farm,��and I work part time on it,” said Anderson, who is majoring in Agricultural Operations. “Hopefully, one day, I can take over the business.”��

The Harvest Food Baskets are given annually��to��students at MCC who��are��experiencing��food insecurity.��Helping those in need raised the spirits of the Ag Club students in attendance, including Savanah Mager.��

“It makes my heart warm to help the people who need help the most,” Mager said. “We’re��not all fortunate enough to have places to go on Thanksgiving and��it’s��nice to have some home-grown��product��to give them. A lot of us contributed something to help feed those are who in need.”��

Among the��locally-sourced��food items were chickens from the��Montcalm Area Career Center’s��(MACC)��Agriscience program.��Their students��raise chickens for a contest��annually,��and MCC’s Ag Club commits to buying 25 of them per year to help��fill��the Harvest Food Baskets��— a beneficial��collaboration��for both parties.��The potatoes were sourced from the Michigan State University Potato Research Farm in Entrican��while the onions came from a familial tie within the Ag Club.��Following the packing of the baskets, students took the time to hand-write thank you notes for those who provided food items.��

“It’s really cool that we can use what we’ve been��given to give��back,” Anderson said. “Especially in the agriculture sector, we produce food for profit but sometimes,��it’s��really good��to help people who are in need and who��can’t��afford food for their whole family. To be able to give a little bit back to them is very meaningful;��I’m��really thankful��that��I’m��able to help other people by providing them with some apples and help bless people during the Thanksgiving season.”��

Ag Club advisor and MCC Ag Program Coordinator Brian Gardner shared how important it was for his students to get involved in charitable work to properly understand the impact their field of study has.��

“MCC has a variety of students from all different��backgrounds��and several of them have issues finding what they’re going to eat for their next meal,” Gardner said. “I think��it’s��important,��as we learn to become growers and agricultural professionals,��that we understand we are part of the food chain. We have an obligation to give back to our students in that way and to be able to provide food for them is��a great opportunity��for them to see the need here, locally.”��

Following the filling of the baskets, the task of distribution is delegated to MCC’s Student Success Coaches, who work closely with a variety of students to��identify��those in need of food��assistance.��

“The success coaches know a lot of students��here��and we want them to be able to have something so they’re able to have a nice Thanksgiving meal,” Gardner said. “If they��don’t��have the means to cook,��we’ll��find other sources of food for them. We��don’t��know who gets them directly, but��we’ve��heard stories about the impact it makes on the people who receive these baskets.��It’s��really nice��to hear those stories and to be able to pay it forward.”��

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POP OUT BOX:��

The Food Source at MCC provides current MCC students with nutritious food items while classes are in session. Donations of non-perishable food items may be left at the Recreation Desk,��located��in the Activities��Building��on the college’s Sidney �鶹ӳ����ý.��Popular items at The Food Source include:��

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• Cereal��

• Canned fruit��

• Macaroni and Cheese/Boxed Meals��

• Canned meat��

• Pasta��

• Pasta sauce��

• Soups��

• Crackers��

• Various dry goods��

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Contact information:��For more information��about��donating to The Food Source, contact��Auxiliary��Services Manager John Davis at (989) 328-1209 or via email at john.davis@montcalm.edu.��