Front from left to right York High School FFA Difference Makers – Compassion to Action members: Kynlee Westwood, Bridget Kavan, and Carly Uffelman. Back from left to right: Makayla Snider, Melah Stodieck, Taytum Methe, and Peyton Wetter. Contact Kerry Hoffschneider – volunteer coordinator for the program if you want to learn more or invite Difference Makers to present to your business or organization, (call/text) 402-363-8963.
YORK, Neb. – The York FFA Difference Makers – “Compassion to Action” committee is excited to announce they are launching their new community-driven food security and ag-education outreach program this summer at the York County Fair on August 6-9. Their project launch will include a food drive for Blue Valley Community Action – York County and also a fundraising campaign to support Difference Makers community-focused food security and innovative ag education projects.
The committee is led by York High School students Taytum Methe, Makayla Snider, Melah Stodieck, Bridget Kavan, Carly Uffelman, Kynlee Westwood, and Peyton Wetter. The group is compelled by the challenges and opportunities agriculture has ahead as it addresses some serious societal issues.
“Despite Nebraska’s agricultural strength, 48 of 93 counties qualify as food deserts and children lack access to healthy foods,” according to the Center for Rural Affairs (CFRA) and Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. “Between 2016 and 2021, rural Nebraska lost nearly 30 percent of its independent grocery stores, and several counties face significant food access challenges.”
Also, in Nebraska, more than $4.4 billion is spent annually on food, and 90 percent of that food comes from outside the state, according to a collaborative report by the Nebraska Food Council.
“There are serious issues to face, but the most exciting part of this project is asking the community to help us and then seeing their excitement to come on board,” said Taytum Methe – York High School FFA chapter member and leader of the Difference Makers effort. “We really want this to become a strong local project and to expand to other areas of the state and even the country.”
The Difference Makers group meeting at Mack’s Golden Grounds in York planning their program launch activities. Pam Todd – York Dollar Fresh office manager, Taytum Methe, and Ashley Preslicka – York Dollar Fresh store manager. In July, a Difference Makers display will be at Dollar Fresh to help create excitement about their launch at the York County Fair.
In addition to food access issues, the group is also learning about and sharing information around the stressors the world’s farmers face every day. According to Stanford University, “The world loses roughly 36 billion tons of topsoil every year. This erosion happens up to 10 to 40 times faster than the earth can naturally replenish it.”
Worldwide water demands also present a need to seek solutions. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) states, “There are 3.2 billion people living in agricultural areas with high to very high water shortages or scarcity, of whom 1.2 billion people (roughly one-sixth of the world’s population) live in severely water-constrained agricultural areas.”
The Difference Makers realize future generations are going to be increasingly faced with the challenges above here and across the world as they strive to be food secure. They want to inspire farmers and consumers who are all impacted by these topics to come together and envision even more abundance through innovative practices and the implementation of new grassroots ideas.
The student-led committee wants to bring these topics forward to the local community and are seeking monetary, in-kind, and hands-on volunteer support for their efforts. They recognize if we truly want to feed our communities and the world, we need an eyes-wide-open approach to the future of agriculture and food.
New Difference Maker committee member Carly Uffelman said, “With the launch of our program at the York County Fair, we hope to get people excited about helping and informing them about who we are and what we want to do with this project. The project has brought our leader Taytum so much joy to help and I wanted to be a part of that excitement. We want others to be part of the excitement too.”
“There’s a need to be informed about what’s happening around food and agriculture in our communities. We need the energy of young people to help come up with solutions and to build impactful projects that truly reflect compassion, taking action,” said Kerry Hoffschneider, volunteer coordinator of the group. “We hope this program inspires others to jump on board and use their creativity to solve a host of problems that make a real difference for the future. That’s what ‘compassion to action’ is all about. It’s going to take all our compassion working together to make a difference that lasts.”
If you want to become involved with Difference Makers projects and/or invite our group to speak to your business or organization, contact volunteer coordinator of the group, Kerry Hoffschneider at (402) 363-8963 who is overseen by the York High School FFA and ag education program.
