ORWELL – For more than four decades, the Vo-Ag students at Grand Valley High School have sold fruit to the community.
That sale has become a way for the students to assist Country Neighbor in ensuring the people of their community have food on their tables.
“Every year, we have a fruit sale through the school,” GVHS Agricultural Science teacher Lowell Moodt said. “We’ve doing it for, I don’t know, I was in school in the 1980s, and we were doing it back then. We always order extra fruit and then we donate it for Christmas to Country Neighbor because they do a lot for the community, and they give out meals to the people who are in need. We just think it’s a nice thing to do for them.”
The donation included apples, oranges, tangelos, Clementines, pears, sausage and cheese.
“We all know that fresh fruit and vegetables are very nutritious, and it’s one of the most expensive things at a grocery store,” Country Neighbor Executive Director Barb Klingensmith said. “It’s really important (to get fruit for these meals), and it’s nice to be able to add that.”
The donation, totaling between $600 and $700, will be distributed by Country Neighbor.
“We’re extremely grateful,” Klingensmith said. “What we do with it is we’ll go through it and depending on what it is, I’ll actually send it out with our Home Delivered Meals program so that we have fresh fruit for seniors getting meals. Sometimes, I’ll put it in the boxes for Christmas. I make good use of it.”
The donation of fruit goes along with the lessons the Grand Valley Vo-Ag students are being taught.
“It kind of goes along with the class that we’re donating the things that farmers across the country have harvested and it goes to a good cause,” Moodt said. “It’s not going to go to waste, and we know that they’ll take care of people. We’ve done this for years with them and we average, probably, around six or $700 in fruit that we donate every year.”
The students were happy to donate to Country Neighbor.
“It’s always nice to know that there’s a helping hand with our community, just because there are struggling families in every area,” GVHS student Rylee Rogers said. “It’s nice to know that it’s right here in the center of town. Nobody has to worry about traveling anywhere.”
GVHS student Reese Nims agreed.
“It’s where people in our community can go and it’s more personal for us to do it for them,” Nims said.
The donation allows the students to assist their neighbors.
“It’s nice to know that they’re always helping out the community,” Rogers said. “We try to do so much for Orwell itself because the school is right there, and a lot of the families that go to Grand Valley also come here, as well. To know that they’re here helping out our students, the close-knit culture that we have in school, is important.”
Moodt is proud of his students.
“These guys are great,” Moodt said. “They’re always wanting to give. We’ve done roadside cleanups, but they’re just awesome kids, each and every one of them that I have.”
Klingensmith is appreciative of not only the Grand Valley students, but also the community.
“We’re really grateful to the community as a whole for the support,” Klingensmith said. “Especially during the government shutdown, the community has really stepped up and come together, and we’re just very grateful for that, to be able to continue to do what we do.”
