Michigan Farm Bureau Awards Grant to Ida Elementary School

NEWS RELEASE 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                    Contact: Audrey Carey

February 14, 2024                                                                      Community Engagement Specialist

517-679-4739

              acarey@michfb.com 

Michigan Farm Bureau Awards Grant to Ida Elementary School

Ida, Mich. – Ida Elementary School was recently awarded a $2,000 grant to fight childhood food insecurity and provide agricultural education by the Michigan Farm Bureau Family of Companies (MFBFoC) and Michigan Farm Bureau Agent Charitable Fund (ACF). Grant funds will be used to bring the FARM Science Lab to Ida Elementary and provide students with STEM-based agricultural lessons and a farm field trip experience. 

Ida Elementary School is one of three schools throughout the state to receive an Agents for Change Grant from the MFBFoC in February. Schools are nominated by a local Farm Bureau Insurance agent and selected by a committee of ACF donors based on the need of the school and overall goal of the program. 

Farm Bureau agent Kelsey Starr and Ben Starr nominated Ida Elementary School for the grant and are proud supporters of Ida’s efforts to bring agricultural education to their community. As Starr says, “Ida is a small farming community and the hometown to our Farm Bureau County office. STEM teacher Annalyse Auxter has been very active with ‘outside the box’ learning and a focus on the need for understanding Michigan’s food needs and solutions. She has requested the FARM Science Lab to make sure every one of the 567 elementary students gets a chance to see and learn. This grant will further celebrate her amazing commitment to her kids and community.”

Operating at the intersection of market and moral missions, the MFBFoC has a powerful vision: a Michigan where no child goes to bed hungry. MFBFoC is reinvesting their proceeds back into their local communities and identifying effective programs, policies and practices designed to directly reduce childhood hunger. 

The ACF, whose mission is to end hunger in Michigan, is a donor-designated fund administered through the Michigan Foundation for Agriculture. The Michigan Foundation for Agriculture, a 501(c)(3) governed by the MFBFoC’s board of directors, positively contributes to the future of Michigan agriculture through leadership and educational programming.

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If you would like more information about the MFBFoC childhood hunger relief efforts, please contact Audrey Carey at acarey@michfb.com.