American Farm Bureau Foundation Makes Ag Education More Accessible

New resources and $17,000 in grants from the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture provide educators and parents with tools that can be adapted to traditional, virtual and home classrooms to help students this fall continue to learn about how their food is grown.

“We know educators and parents continue to face tough decisions and uncharted territory this year, and we want to be an easy button as they adapt and prepare lessons and activities,” AFBFA Executive Director Daniel Meloy said. “The Ag Foundation is committed to reaching students where they are to help them continue to learn where their food comes from, in the most engaging ways possible.”

AFBFA has awarded $17,000 to educators and communities through the White-Reinhardt Fund for Education program for this fall. Ten classroom and community ag literacy projects across the country will receive $1,000 each to build on their efforts. New this year, AFBFA has also awarded White-Reinhardt resource grants to provide funds for educators to purchase ag literacy resources from the Ag Foundation store in hopes of helping educators and students gain access to more accurate information about agriculture. Seventy educators from across the country will each receive a $100 gift card for use at the Ag Foundation’s online store.

AFBFA also continues to expand and update its offering of free online resources with the publication of a new booklet and a refresh to My American Farm, which has attracted more than a half million gamers and curious kids. This resource just got better with a fresh website that is now more kid-friendly, giving parents and educators a great solution to screen time. All games, videos and activities at My American Farm are aligned to learning standards and have an agricultural theme.

New from AFBFA’s publishing arm Feeding Minds Press, “The Prized Pumpkin” is the next installment in the Little Ag Me series of printable books that explore careers in agriculture. The fifth in the series, “The Prized Pumpkin” introduces readers grades 3-5 to Tori and Jade who work with an agronomist and beekeeper as they each strive to grow the most prized pumpkin in a friendly-turned-fierce competition. Parents and students can access this new story, and the entire Little Ag Me series from AFBFA free – to read online or print at home.

“A love of learning isn’t limited by the classroom setting,” Meloy said. “And cultivating an excitement for learning about agriculture continues to drive us to find creative solutions to get these resources to students and their educators.”