Highlighting the 2023 Food Partner Challenge: 4-H Dairy Farmers Commit to Expanded Community Service
In Sherburne County, Minnesota, the Otsego 4-H Club has made a significant impact on local families through their project, "Pledging Our 4-H Dairy Farming Hands to Larger Service." This initiative, which taught the club members valuable skills in planning, communication, and teamwork, resulted in a donation of 39 cases of cheese curd to Community Aid of Elk River (CAER).
The project aimed to provide a healthy snack-sized dairy product to families in need through CAER's Kids Weekend CAER Package, a programme that offers support to families with school-aged children (grades K-12). CAER needed such a dairy product for their package, and the Otsego 4-H Club was more than happy to oblige.
The club members, who live on dairy farms and participate in the University of Minnesota's 4-H dairy project, reached out to CAER to understand their biggest dairy product need. They then collaborated with Ellsworth Creamery to purchase two-ounce snack-sized cheese curd packages for donation to CAER. Ellsworth Creamery also generously donated an additional 70 pounds of cheese to the project.
The Otsego 4-H Club's efforts did not go unnoticed. They were awarded $500 in the 2023 Food Partner Challenge for their project. The club expressed satisfaction from donating cheese made from their cows' milk and felt that their project was a beautiful outcome of a simple idea from 4-H'ers.
The 2023 Food Partner Challenge, while not explicitly detailed, appears to be a platform supporting young innovators to develop and scale sustainable solutions that transform agrifood systems to end hunger and achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Youth Food Lab by the World Food Forum, Wageningen University & Research, and the International Association of Students in Agriculture and Related Sciences is a related initiative launched in 2023, offering mentorship, capacity development, networking, and support to turn ideas into sustainable business models.
For those interested in participating or applying for the 2023 Food Partner Challenge, it may be a component or a related opportunity within the Youth Food Lab framework. Interested parties can visit the World Food Forum or Youth Food Lab official platforms for the latest application procedures and deadlines.
The Otsego 4-H Club's "Pledging Our 4-H Dairy Farming Hands to Larger Service" project extended beyond dairy farming, as they donated cheese curds to CAER for the Kids Weekend CAER Package, providing education-and-self-development opportunities for families in need. The club's commitment to food-and-drink initiatives and their collaboration with Ellsworth Creamery reflects their dedication to improving lifestyle through sustainable solutions, aligning with the goals of the 2023 Food Partner Challenge and initiatives like the Youth Food Lab.
