Children will be the ones to feed us tomorrow, according to Shannon Powers, press secretary for the Department of Agriculture.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture is emphasizing youth in its approach to agriculture.
“We require them for all agricultural occupations. According to Powers, one in ten occupations in Pennsylvania are in agriculture.
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The department’s yearly “Farm City Day” was conducted to inform students of all ages about a career in the sector.
They are witnessing the process from seed to plate, according to Powers.
The former Bishop McDevitt High School property, which is being transformed into a community center, served as the venue for the event organized by the BRIDGE Eco-Village. The transformation of the football field into a communal garden was one of their initial initiatives.
Students worked in many areas of the garden, from watering and weeding the crops to planting flowers and replenishing the irrigation system.
“We teach them about the anatomy of a seed, what to weed, what to water, and how often to water,” said Garry Gilliam, CEO of the BRIDGE Eco-Village.
According to Gilliam, educating children about agriculture benefits the entire neighborhood.
The better it is for us and the environment, he continued, “the more we can grow our food locally, the more nutritional value it has.”
Additionally, it inspires the next generation to support this vital sector.
Powers remarked, “It takes a lot of individuals to put food on our table every day.
Even though they are carrying large amounts of water up a hill, Gilliam continued, “they are enthusiastic about it because they know it is for a great cause.”
According to Powers, the Department of Agriculture anticipates having 75,000 unfilled positions in the sector over the coming several years, thus they are looking to today’s students to fill those vacancies.
