Connecting college students to their food

The Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska (A-FAN) is dedicated to bridging the gap between the farm and dinner tables everywhere. A-FAN collaborated with agriculture-related student organizations at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to host the second annual Husker Food Connection event yesterday. 

Husker Food Connection helps urban students better understand where their food comes from. The theme of the Husker Food Connection was, "Know what we grow: Discovering Nebraska Agriculture."

Participants learned about where their food comes from and the importance of agriculture in Nebraska while engaging in several activities. Students received a free lunch featuring beef, pork and turkey sandwiches along with ice cream -- all products raised and made right here in Nebraska. During the event, approximately 2,000 lunches were served. The first 1,000 students to attend the event also received free t-shirts.

Numerous students were eager to take a closer look at the piglets, chicks and Holstein calf. For many of them, this was their first experience with livestock. Other attractions included milking a mechanical cow, touring the mobile beef lab, climbing up on a tractor, learning to rope, and competing in a hay bale stacking contest.

"This event was so interesting to me! I got to see the chicks, pigs, calf and fistulated steer. I learned the significance of what a cow does -- it eats plants that humans can't so it can produce food for us," said Nellie Logue, freshman in accounting & finance at UNL. 

Over 80 students volunteered at Tuesday’s event promoting agriculture on UNL's City Campus.

"Husker Food Connection is all about showing people that their food comes from the farm, not the grocery store," said Alissa Doerr, event coordinator and senior at UNL. "These agricultural student groups came together for the second year to promote agriculture on city campus. They saw the need to help tell our urban friends about where food comes from, and it has turned into a huge success." 

The success of the event would not have been possible without the support of the Nebraska's agriculture industry. Including the Nebraska Corn Board, 42 agriculture organizations, groups and businesses contributed to support the event. Find a full list of sponsors and contributors at becomeafan.org.