Mt. Vernon FFA Leads Student Body In “Living To Serve”
Constant chatter, friendly cheers, adolescent laughter and blaring country music echoed through the room while the comforting scent of cinnamon wafted across the room. Mt. Vernon High School in #Agri-Ready Designated Lawrence County was filled with energy as members of the Mt. Vernon FFA chapter led their high school student body in packing 25,000 meals of cinnamon apple oatmeal to support their neighbors in need. Thanks in part to a grant from Missouri Farmers Care’s Drive to Feed Kids, the packing event was a part of the sixth annual Mountaineers Serve Day organized and facilitated by the FFA chapter to engage the future leaders of Mt. Vernon in their community. According to FFA president Raegan Pendleton, the Drive to Feed Kids doesn’t just feed hungry neighbors, it creates experiences that feed the hearts and minds of students through community service.
“Packing meals for Mountaineers was such a success this year. The energy in the room was so high and it was incredible to see students willing to give up their own time to help others,” said Makayla Piotrowski, an FFA Advisor for the Mt. Vernon FFA. “We are thankful to our business and organization partners for making this event happen.”
Leading By Example
Mountaineers Serve day was created by the Mt. Vernon FFA chapter six years ago because, “Not all valuable lessons are learned in the classroom,” shared Raegan Pendleton, president of the Mt. Vernon FFA chapter and lead organizer of the activity which happens during Thanksgiving week. Each member of the Mt. Vernon High School student body was bussed to one of 27 locations across Mt. Vernon to participate in four hours of community service, addressing projects solicited by Mt. Vernon FFA.
As a member of the National Honor Society (NHS), Raegan had noticed the shelves of the student-run food pantry looking bare. She initiated a collaboration between the two leadership organizations to increase the impact of Mt’Neers Serve Day by including a food packing event.
Funding the Effort
While grant funding from Missouri Farmers Care’s Drive to Feed Kids served as a foundation of financial support for Mt. Vernon FFA’s food packing event, FFA and NHS students spent hours on the phone sharing their project with local businesses, churches, and individuals asking for monetary support. “We helped kids learn the valuable lesson of how to talk on the phone and stay organized,” Raegan said. “This program was challenging to fundraise for, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.” The work of student leaders helped raise $9,521 from the Mt. Vernon community to support the food packing event.
Results that Make a Difference
Nearly 300 Mt. Vernon students helped pack 25,000 meals of cinnamon apple oatmeal in a matter of hours. “It was awesome to see how much fun students had talking with their friends while doing something that will impact so many lives,” remembers Raegan. The meals will be distributed through the school food pantry, Meals for Mountaineers, as well as local church pantries. The project funds also covered the cost of 200 hygiene bags that the students packed, which will also be distributed from the school pantry. Each hygiene bag included 2 toothbrushes, 2 toothpastes, 1 full size deodorant, 2 body soaps, 2 shampoos and conditioners and an encouraging note written by a student leader.
Another Perspective
One of the biggest smiles that Raegan remembers from the day was from high school principal, Dr. Garrett Prevo, who experienced Mountaineers Serve day for the first time this year. “We are expected to prepare students for their future endeavors academically and we also feel called to prepare them in ways beyond the classroom with opportunities for life skills and character development. Seeing students willingly serve those in our community, then come together to pack meals for others was a highlight of my career- a testament that the lessons we attempt to instill in our students are sinking in,” said Dr. Prevo. “We understand that the students in our schools will be the leaders of our community in a few short years. The value of service to others is essential to our community continuing to thrive for years to come and are thankful for the leadership of our FFA students and advisors, as well as the contributions from Missouri Farmers Care, to make this a possibility for our community.”
More than Just a Food Drive
“The Drive to Feed Kids is more than just a food drive. It creates an experience,” Raegan shared. “The grant money we received didn’t just purchase supplies and allow us to meet a need in our local community. It fed the minds of students and helped change their perspectives. Students were shocked to realize that so many in our community rely on meals from local food pantries.”
Thanks and commendations to these Mt. Vernon area businesses and faith organizations for their financial support of the 2024 Mountaineers Serve meal packing event: CIA, Hills Feed and More, Pendleton 5 Farms, Miller Christian Church, Life Bridge, Rotary Club, The Lawrence County Record, Tom Kissee, HomeTown Pharmacy, Ozark Electric Co-Op, Cowherd Law Office, Complete Image Studio, Morris Electric, Farmer's Daughter Cakes and More, Community Garden, Butterball, Super Lube, Trogdon, Nobleberry, MV Animal Hospital, Lambda Omega of Beta Sigma PHI, and Tents for All Events.
More About the Drive to Feed Kids
Fourteen Missouri FFA chapters have been awarded 2025 Drive to Feed Kids grants through the Missouri Farmers Care Foundation. This is the fifth year the Foundation has provided grants for Missouri FFA chapters to fund local food security efforts. Missouri Farmers Care Foundation’s Drive to Feed Kids annually raises resources and awareness in addressing needs faced by food insecure families; the 2025 Drive will continue through summer and culminate at the Missouri State Fair in August. The Drive raised more than 711,000 meals in 2024 and has raised over 13 million meals since 2017.
Join the Drive
Missouri Farmers Care Foundation invites companies, organizations and individuals to join presenting partners ADM and Brownfield Ag News, American Family Insurance, MFA Incorporated, Nutra Blend, FCS Financial, Missouri Corn, Missouri FFA Foundation and ag organizations, farmers and ranchers as partners of the Drive to Feed Kids. Details and a giving link are found at mofarmerscare.com/drive/. All donations support the Drive including grants for local projects, Hogs for Hunger, FFA Day of Service meal packing and the efforts of the Feeding Missouri network of food banks who work daily to alleviate hunger.
