DE WITT, Neb. - Smoke billowed, fires raged and patties sizzled on Thursday afternoon at the latest monthly cookout served up by the Tri County Schools’ FFA chapter and their Farm 2 Fork initiative.  

For the last three years, Farm 2 Fork has aimed to nurture Tri County students with a full understanding of how their food gets to them, while also nourishing them with a fulfilling meal – all while giving them a seat at the table in the food creation process.  

“It’s such a learning thing for all of us,” said Sage Holtmeier, a freshman at Tri County and an FFA junior officer. “Before this ever became a thing, I think the students didn’t really know how a cow got to our plate, and all that – I think it’s really important for them to know that, how they get the food to their table, and I think it’s really taught all of us, even me who grew up on a farm, it’s taught me so much.” 

“Making sure we’re out in the community and having them know what we need is how we’re successful,” said Laura Baade, Farm 2 Fork’s vice president. “Making sure that when we need a pork or when we need a beef, we’re asking for it, and typically we have a business or an individual farmer willing to donate, and that’s amazing. And we have people that give us financial donations as well.” 

Those financial donations help the group acquire other essential items like utensils and charcoal. Even the grill itself was created and donated by a former Tri County student – it's powerful enough to bear the burden of anywhere between four and five hundred burgers cooked over the course of the morning.  

“In the beginning, everyone was pretty nervous about what was going to happen, but three years later and 12,000 hamburgers later, it all kind of goes with the flow,” said Farm 2 Fork President Brandon Esau. “We’ve got good groups and organizations that come and help, good people that come and help, so it makes it a lot of fun. At this point it’s gone from nerve-wracking and kind of anxious to we just have a good time.” 

And students of all ages are involved in every step of the process. Students grow spices and greens in the on-campus greenhouse, learn about the entire agriculture process in the classroom and in the co-curricular Future Farmers of America program, help cook and serve the meat – and, of course, get to enjoy the fruits of the labor by eating the meals they prepared. It’s a rare school program that impacts the entire school, including employees and families.  

“A lot of times an organization might only touch certain people, but we impact everyone,” Esau said. “We’re teaching kids in elementary about where their food comes from, ag education, providing a quality meal everyday, whenever they have meat in the kitchen, so it’s really become a school affair, and when kids see Farm to Fork day on the menu, they get pretty excited.” 

From bacon and sausage at breakfast to spaghetti and tacos for lunch, to these monthly pork or hamburger cookouts, whenever there’s meat at meals at Tri County schools, Farm to Fork helped bring it there, from start to finish.