School children from the Mission school district have become empowered agents of change against food insecurity. They are currently harvesting crops they grew with the support of a partnership between the City of Mission Rotary Club and three departments at UTRGV.

During the 2021-2022 school year, 80 students grew lettuce, oranges, papayas and zucchini in gardens at 14 elementary schools and two high schools. Leading the initiative in the Mission school district’s new F.A.R.M.E.R.S program is UTRGV alumnus Jose Escamilla.

A $50,574 Rotary Global Grant – “Growing Next Generation FARMERS” – was approved in October 2021. The funds now equip the next generation of sustainable agriculturists with two greenhouses, an all-terrain vehicle, and a drone ­to collect data and spray pesticides.

Luis R. Torres-Hostos, dean of the UTRGV School of Social Work and president-elect of the City of Mission Rotary Club, said that the equipment was necessary. Yet, he states the project is much bigger than an ATV or a drone.

“The power of this project is bringing new partners together and seeing the collective impact,” he said.

UTRGV faculty from three areas – social work, agroecology and business – contributed their expertise to change students’ perceptions of agriculture and the impact they can make in the Rio Grande Valley. Here, more children experience food insecurity than the state average.

Multi-Departmental Impact

In Mission classrooms and at the school gardens, UTRGV faculty and students taught the children about sustainable farming practices, careers in agriculture and the socioeconomic value of fresh produce.

Alex Racelis and students from UTRV’s Agroecology and Resilient Food Systems program taught students about the science of plant growth, new careers in agriculture and advances in crop science to achieve farming goals.

They assisted with the students’ weekend visits to the agroecology department’s Hub of Prosperity research and education farm located in Edinburg. The five-acre farm is serving as a model for the district’s planned 18-acre farm.

Once operational, the farm will subsidize food for MCISD’s child nutrition program while also supporting local food banks.

In addition, plans are underway to help the students think about how the fruits of their efforts can turn into an entrepreneurship opportunity.

Derek Abrams is a UTRGV associate professor of practice with the Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship. She said these opportunities might include selling produce at a farmer’s market or as part of a farmer’s cooperative. Produce could also be of us in making and selling pickles, jams, jellies and salsa.

“In the Valley, there are many students with different risk factors that impact their well-being,” said Abrams, who also serves as associate director of the UTRGV Center for Innovation and Commercialization. “Through this program, they garner a sense of accomplishment from using the produce to help others in the community.”

‘Agents Of Change’

The K-12 students also had lessons on how they can make an impact on the health of the general population via agricultural careers. UTRGV School of Social Work students explained the social relevance of agriculture and nutrition. There are correlations between negative health outcomes, food insecurity and the inaccessibility of fresh produce.

Roughly half of the Rio Grande Valley are a Low-Income, Low-Access (LILA) census tract, where fresh, healthy food is not readily available. The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area was also recently listed as the “most obese” in America.

Elaine Hernandez, guest lecturer in UTRGV’s Sustainable Community Health Promotion in Social Work graduate certificate program, said having these conversations followed by hands-on experiences directly tackling the issue gives children a chance to see themselves as powerful agents in their life journey.

“Students physically plant a seed and make that link to their own life,” said Hernandez, a longtime Rotarian and regional director in South Texas for Baylor University’s Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty. “They’re in germination until graduation – a time of harvest.”

Using a methodology called “photo-voice,” social work students helped the young farmers document their changing attitudes about how food gets to their plates. They also communicate their plans for social change through the field of agriculture.

“Many of the Mission students are first- or second-generation immigrants, and some grew up in migrant farm families who have generational experiences that associated agriculture with poverty, travel and back-breaking labor in the field,” Torres-Hostos said. “But the agriculture of today isn’t the same as in the past.”

Students made posters that shared family histories, first-hand knowledge of agriculture and entrepreneurial hopes. Those posters were then on display at a UTRGV conference on nutrition and health, validating their newly developing interest in addressing hunger in the region.

The collaboration will continue through June 2023 with more than 250 Mission student participants. Abrams said the program could become financially self-sufficient with a successful entrepreneurial component.

“This program could become a recurring opportunity for Mission CISD students well into the future,” he said.