AMES, Iowa - Ames High School students are finding creative ways to combat food insecurity and have received funding to bring their ideas to life, thanks to an Iowa State University essay contest.
Last spring, Students Helping to Eliminate Poverty and Hunger Club (SHEPH) members worked in teams to identify a hunger-related issue in the Ames community and propose a solution. The students outlined proposed projects in essays for the inaugural George Washington Carver Future Hunger Fighters Program essay contest.
The contest was designed to engage Iowa high school students in developing innovative solutions to food insecurity. The program is led by Walter Suza, George Washington Carver Endowed Chair and adjunct associate professor of agronomy at Iowa State.
The essay that received top marks outlined a project based at the Reliable Street Community Garden in west Ames. SHEPH students have volunteered there for several years and donate produce grown to Food at First, a local non-profit offering free daily meals and a food pantry. The project aims to engage elementary students by inviting them to the garden each spring and fall so they can learn about planting and harvesting fruits and vegetables. Thanks to their winning entry, Ames High students hope to start that in spring 2026.
“It’s a special and unique experience because we get to learn about food insecurity issues in our community and make a difference by educating others and donating produce from the garden,” said Laura Chen, Ames High School student and SHEPH member, about SHEPH’s involvement at the community garden.
Some of the funding from winning the essay contest will be put toward hosting a Farmer’s Market at the gardens on Sept. 17, from 5-8 p.m. All community members are welcome to attend and interact with vendors, enjoy a free meal provided by Lockwood Café and support fundraising efforts for food insecurity.
Other student proposals for the essay contest included:
- A walk-a-thon to raise funds for and create awareness about food insecurity
- A food delivery program targeted toward individuals who cannot travel to a local food pantry
- A food pantry on wheels, offering the ability to order food via an app or website
In preparation for the essay contest, Collin Reichert, Ames High School science teacher and SHEPH advisor, encouraged the students to reach out to community members involved with local food pantries and other food insecurity-related programs to better understand how those programs work, their needs and how they could be improved.
“The students did a lot of real-world problem solving and thinking through the constraints of pulling off their proposed projects,” Reichert said. “The essay contest is unique because students had to strategize how to implement their plan; it wasn’t just an abstract notion.”
As contest organizer, Suza will continue working with Ames High School and plans to follow up on the students’ progress. He was pleased with the thoughtfulness of the students’ ideas and hopes to expand the program in the future to involve other school districts and community organizations.
“I want to invite young people to think about what they can do to make a difference in their community and help provide resources for them to take positive actions,” Suza said.
Suza invites schools or groups interested in participating in the George Washington Carver Future Hunger Fighters Program to reach out to him at wpsuza@iastate.edu.
Contacts
Walter Suza, Department of Agronomy, 515-294-4138, wpsuza@iastate.edu
Whitney Baxter, Agriculture and Life Sciences Communications, 515-294-2314, wjsager@iastate.edu