Rooted in Service

Just outside the classroom walls of Winchester High School in Indiana, one FFA member is embodying the FFA motto “Living to Serve” through her supervised agricultural experience (SAE). Cassidy Burk has always shown a passion for giving back to those facing food insecurity, and now, she is growing her impact through a community garden. 

Burk says the garden is currently harvesting tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, all of which will end up in food backpacks for those experiencing food insecurity within the Winchester community. 

Winchester Central FFA advisor Leah Hurd says she saw Burk’s desire to help others through her previous volunteer experience, and the community garden SAE project idea sparked from there. “She did stuff with our food backpack program and packed food for our local community. So we already saw that that passion for food insecurity was there.” 

Through starting the community garden, Burk has started to see how far her project’s impact goes for others. 

“It makes me feel very proud because I know a whole bunch of students that helped me through hard times.” she says, “It’s really helped me give back to them.”

Not only is she seeing the impact her project has on others, but Burk’s supporters are recognizing how it is affecting her as well.

“I think it’s amazing that somebody her age is thinking about the community and what the community needs and what she can do to participate in that,” says community garden volunteer Jeannie Brummett.

Burk’s project shows just how significant SAE projects can be in the lives of FFA members. “FFA is all about living to serve,” Hurd says. “Not only is she gaining these practical skills that are going to help her in terms of organization and planning logistically, but also she’s learning the importance of giving back right here in her local community.”