Those beloved experiences led O’Leary, a health occupations instructor at Fort Dodge Senior High School, to create a cross-curricular experience that teaches students young and old about food while incorporating personal passions.

“I reflected on how expensive food is as well as the cost of running a daycare when it came to groceries for the kids,” said O’Leary. “I thought about how great of an activity it would be for the kids to take ownership and help in creating a garden at their daycare to do their part to cut back on grocery bills, while also giving them a chance to do activities outside, unplugged, good old fashioned activities. I also wanted a way to tie all the great things that we have going on at FDSH and let the community be a part of it. We have so many great programs at the high school and so many talented students.”

O’Leary’s idea has since morphed into Feeding Our Future which involves more than 50 FDSH students and five teachers through a variety of student organizations and classes.

Students in the Health Occupations Students of America club are helping to teach daycare students at Kids Kingdom about the importance of eating healthy. Family, Career and Community Leaders of America students have created age appropriate activities and lessons for kids around the Feeding Our Future project including planting, taking care of plants, and focusing on where food comes from. Skills USA students are helping the daycare to build the garden itself. Students in FDSH’s Art Club are painting a mural on the garden space and have also made coloring books with an A-Z theme of fruits and vegetables.

-Photo by Lydia Schuur/Fort Dodge Community School District
Brandt Lawler and John Moeding pose with their seeds.

“The high school kids have been the driving force of this project since the start,” said O’Leary. “A small group of students listened to my ideas and really made them come to life. They spent countless hours doing research, creating digital creations and providing feedback for each other.”

According to O’Leary, the Feeding Our Future project has a variety of components to it and involves a number of different FDSH departments including health occupations instructor Amanda Pratt, art instructor Deidra Miller-Clay, industrial tech instructor Jeremiah Reed, early childhood education instructor Sherrie Dillon, and alternative education instructor Ashley Beaumont, who have all played a role in the success of the project.

“I love being able to see the students work and collaborate with adults, other students, and kids to make this project happen,” said O’Leary. “This project teaches so much more than just gardening and that is what it is all about.”

On Tuesday, students with Feeding Our Future put all of their hard work to the test as they worked with Kingdom Kids daycare to teach children and help them plant their own garden seeds.

“Watching the way the little kids looked at the high school kids today during our planting time was a moment that really made my teacher and mom heart swell,” said O’Leary. “Two of my children attend this daycare and I really enjoyed watching one of my daughters interact with my student. It was a really powerful thing to watch. I loved seeing how much the daycare kids looked up to the high school students, and I think the high school students were able to see the impact of what they were doing.”

-Photo by Lydia Schuur/Fort Dodge Community School District
Fort Dodge Senior High student Meah McCaleb helps Zariah Jackson plant seeds in an egg carton.

Feeding Our Future, according to O’Leary, is a project that not only teaches FDSH students as well as the Kingdom Kids daycare children about gardening and food, but also teaches lessons of teamwork, accountability, follow through, and giving back to community.

The produce that is grown at the daycare will be used to feed the daycare children. Members of St. Olaf Lutheran Church also plan to do activities with the youth to teach them canning skills. Food will also be utilized to make the meals that St. Olaf prepares for Beacon of Hope, as well as being donated to the food bank.

“This project is important to me because this is helping our future generations learn how to grow food, eat well, and take care of themselves,” said Jessenia Elias, who helped Hayzel Benedict plant seeds. “This project can help our community come together and create a long lasting impact.”

“This project can teach kids how to produce food for themselves, instead of relying on a grocery store, and can teach the importance of eating fruits and vegetables at a young age,” added student Brandt Lawler, who helped John Moeding plant an egg carton of seeds.

“I think this project will help kids learn about fruits and vegetables, and why it’s important to their nutrition to eat them,” added Hailey Carstensen, who helped Bailey Briese plant seeds.

-Photo by Lydia Schuur/Fort Dodge Community School District
Fort Dodge Senior High student Hailey Carstensen helps Bailey Briese plant seeds in an egg carton.

Students have received local support for Feeding Our Future from private donors as well as from Northwest Bank and Smitty’s.

“We are looking for additional sponsors to ensure we can do the project to the level that we have planned,” said O’Leary. “People can make monetary donations to St. Olaf Church — Garden project. A big thank you as well to those who have donated to help jumpstart our project.”

-Photo by Lydia Schuur/Fort Dodge Community School District
Jessenia Elias and Hayzel Benedict with their egg carton and seeds.