Kendall-Grundy Young Leaders pack back-to-school kits for Plano students

In mid-July the thoughts of last year’s harvest are the last thing on the minds of many of our farmers. For the Kendall-Grundy Young Leaders, however, that is exactly what was on their minds and they put the fruits of that harvest to work for the community.

The Young Leader Committee, a group of farmers and ag professionals ages 18 to 35, and the Plano School District were able to donate $3,000 to support the Ag in the Classroom program, $4,800 to support local food pantries and $1,000 to support the district’s high school foods classes. With the remaining funds, the school proposed funding back-to-school kits for the 2023-2024 school year through Back 2 School America.

On July 19, the Young Leaders Committee hosted its annual summer cookout and packed 200 back-to-school kits for kindergarten students in the Plano School District. Costco helped support the program by donating backpacks to accompany the kits that students picked up at orientation.

Each year, the Young Leader Committee reaches out to local ag suppliers seeking assistance with the project. One of the Young Leaders volunteers to plant, maintain and harvest the crop. Following the harvest, the committee meets with the school administration to discuss how to allocate the funds raised from the harvest.

“The ag community has really supported this program from the beginning,” Kendall-Grundy Young Leader Eric Thorson said in a news release. “Inputs have been donated over the years by S&H Seed Service, GRAINCO FS, Ag Tech Services, CHS Elburn and more. I took over the job of planting the plot a few years back from Kurt Schobert, one of the guys that helped get this program started, and one day another Young Leader will take over.”

In 2016, an idea was sparked when a group of young farmers were looking for a way to give back and the Plano School District was looking for someone to maintain a 14.4-acre plot of land adjacent to a district school. The committee sat down with the school district and discussed how they could use the plot to give back to the community. From there, “Farming for the Community” was born.

“Without the support of the Plano School District Board of Education, administration and support staff, this program would not be possible,” Thorson said. “The partnership we have built and the ideas that come from people like Kathy Benoit at the school are the true secrets to the success of this program.”

Over the past eight years, more than $50,000 has been raised through Farming for the Community to support area food pantries and ag education.

For information on the Kendall-Grundy Farm Bureau Young Leaders, visit kendallgrundyfb.com or call 815-942-6400.