Major spring college students earn food insecurity grants

To be fair, Becky Whigham warned it would be a big project.

Yet no one could have anticipated the multi-year extracurricular services that followed.

It all started a few years ago when Whigham, who teaches family and consumer sciences at Big Spring Middle School, presented students with some options for a sustainability assignment. Among them: Discover. Action. Narrate.a project-based learning program that teaches students about food insecurity and how to combat it in their community.

“I said, ‘This could be someone’s sustainability project, it would be a good project,’” she said. “And it was a lot of work, so of course most kids would have said and said, ‘I’m not interested.’”

But not Ava Hutchinson, Sophia Bono and Eve Deitch.

The three were in seventh grade when they took on the assignment.

“We were really digging, looking for something that would be in this class more than once,” Eve said.

Now in ninth grade, the trio have closed the chapter of their lives in high school, but the work they started there is still ongoing.

Food drive

Their project started with a food drive to supply the Dawg Shawp, a middle school classroom stocked with free clothing, hygiene products and now food for students to take with them when needed.

“We thought we would take it to the next step and add the food aspect to it because we know… they offer meals for the middle schoolers, but nothing really happened for the high schoolers,” Ava said.

The seventh graders placed flyers around the school advertising the event and began collecting donations. While organizing the food drive, the girls also began writing for an Explore Act Tell grant.

“It was definitely something new that we had no idea about before we started this project,” Sophia said.

Over the summer, they learned they had won the thousand-dollar grant, and despite already receiving an A on their seventh-grade project, they met in eighth grade to map out how they could spend the money.

Big Spring students, front from left, Eve Deitch, Sophia Bono and Ava Hutchinson show a grant check they received to combat local food insecurity during a 2023 school board meeting. The then-eighth graders used the money to provide six different meals for 35 Big Spring families during winter break.

Thanks to Becky Whigham

Grant financing

It was the high school student council that determined the direction of the project; the organization conducted its own food drive for Big Spring families over the Thanksgiving holiday.

“That’s how the idea came about to have a winter giveaway because obviously they have something for Thanksgiving, but winter break is also a much bigger break,” Sophia said.

Whigham contributed additional funding she won through a competition to the initiative, and the girls opened a form for families to sign up for meals.

Initially they hoped for 10 families. Instead they got 35, a total of 175 people.

With a budget of $3,000, the students set their sights on planning six healthy, affordable meals per family for winter break, taking into account food allergies, number of family members and preferences.

Big Spring eighth-graders went shopping for meals on December 18, 2023, to provide local families with grants they received to combat local food insecurity during last year’s winter break.

Thanks to Becky Whigham

“That part was really hard because it took a lot of math and critical thinking to figure it out for each family because we had personalized it for each family,” Eve said.

Last December, the girls went on an after-school shopping excursion with Whigham (on her birthday).

By packing meals you almost missed an entire day of classes. Then came the after-school distribution.

“I remember most of the families coming in to pick up their meals were almost surprised in a way because I don’t think they were expecting to see us,” Eve said. “I think they were expecting a room full of 30-year-old adults.”

Round two

With distribution complete and positive feedback pouring in, the three regrouped and set their sights on raising a second round of funding.

“Because we actually had something to show them, it was a lot easier this time too,” Eve said.

With one grant writing process behind them, the students applied for Explore Act Tell grant number two, securing another $1,000, although the verdict is still out on how it will be spent.

“I think what I’m trying to do is encourage them to think about now, especially right there in high school… not that it can’t be a high school-oriented project, but we’re trying to find a way to address the need in a bigger picture,” Whigham said.

As planning continues, the freshmen do not plan to stop work anytime soon.

“We’ve come this far,” Ava said. “Why stop?”

Some highlighted the possibility of turning the effort into a high school club, adding that all three could be mentors, teaching the next group of students how to apply for grants and organize similar distributions.

They also discuss fundraising initiatives to increase impact.

Despite the workload, both in and out of the classroom, the three agree that the effort is worth it.

“It was hard to get out of classes and catch up on work and stuff,” Sophia said. “But I think it was really worth it, and it was really worth it.”

In addition to the interdisciplinary skills I learned during the project, such as English in grant writing and math in price calculations, Eve said she gained empathy and gratitude through the experience.

“I feel things on a deeper level now because I’ve seen things and we’ve been able to help people in need,” she said.

As Ava puts it, seventh-graders are typically more concerned about friends and video games than about their efforts to make a difference.

“I think we should be proud of ourselves,” she said.

As an educator, Whigham certainly is.

“They’re pretty great kids,” she said.

Photos: Major Veterans Day celebration at the high school in 2024

A group of veterans prepare to raise the American flag during the Veterans Day ceremony at Big Spring High School.

Jason Malmont, The Sentinel

Dr. Michael Carnes, principal of Big Spring High School, addresses the crowd during the Big Spring High School Veterans Day ceremony.

Jason Malmont, The Sentinel

Jacob Fealtman, a U.S. Air Force veteran, carries a flag during the Big Spring High School Veterans Day ceremony on Monday.

Jason Malmont, The Sentinel

Big Spring High School hosted a Veterans Day ceremony on Monday. The event included a wreath laying ceremony, patriotic music and a guest speaker.

Jason Malmont, The Sentinel