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From left to right: Brandon Lee, Sarah Deschepper, Hannah Morrisey, Caulyn Crow and Blake Bauer
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Sarah Deschepper and Hannah Morrisey review grain facts to prepare to speak to Macomb community members.
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WIU Agriculture Students Share Food Origin Story at Hy-Vee

April 22, 2015

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MACOMB, IL - - Western Illinois University agriculture students are working to inform the Macomb community about where their food originates.

"One of the biggest problems we face as agriculture enthusiasts, is that people really don't know where their food comes from, " said agriculture student Sarah Deschedpper (Altona, IL).

The 54 students enrolled in the course "Communicating Agriculture Issues" have been talking to members of the Macomb community at the local Hy-Vee grocery store since April 15 and will continue the project through April 29.

In the classroom, students were divided into groups based on different agricultural commodities: beef, pork, poultry, dairy, grains and produce. When their research was finished, the students presented their findings to their classmates in preparation for the advocacy project at Hy-Vee.

The instructor of the course, Jana Knupp, said she had several goals for the project. Not only did she want the students to practice their face-to-face communication skills, but also hoped the public could gain knowledge, as well.

"Farmers will need to produce more food in the next 50 years than they have in the past 10,000," said Knupp. "The general public needs to be knowledgeable about where their food comes from and how it is produced."

"It was really cool to get to experience all aspects of agriculture with my classmates," said Faith Lois (Burlington, WI). Lois said that her favorite part of the project was getting to spend more time with her 'WIU ag family."

The students of "Communicating Agricultural Issues" will be at the Macomb Hy-vee on the following dates and times:

3-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 22
3-6 p.m. Thursday, April 23
3-4:40 p.m. Tuesday, April 28
3-6 p.m. Wednesday, April 29

For more information about the school of agriculture at WIU, visit wiu.edu/cbt/agriculture/

Posted By: Mary Friday (WIUNews@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing