Delta Kappa Gamma holds first meeting

The Beta Beta Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma held their first meeting of the year on

January 23, 2023. The Personal Growth and Service Committee introduced Mrs. Chandra

Hooks, School Nutrition Director, who presented a program on the Farm to School Initiative in

Emanuel County. Farm to School programs create educational opportunities for students to

identify where food comes from, learn why it is important, and apply knowledge from all

subject areas in an engaging way. Emanuel County is fortunate to have Mrs. Kim Hooks as the

Farm to School Coordinator for our district. Mrs. Hooks has thirty years of teaching experience

and a lifetime experiencing agriculture firsthand on her family farms. Mrs. Hooks is passionate

about teaching students about agriculture. “Students of all ages and abilities love working in

school gardens, Mrs. Hooks explained. It gives them a chance to get outside and get their

hands dirty. Our students also can participate in taste tests, sampling foods grown in their

schools’ gardens, take ownership what they have grown when they see it on their lunch trays,

and most importantly learn that they can be successful in growing their own foods at home.”

Gardens and habitats are currently in place, in various stages, at all six schools in Emanuel

County, in addition plans are currently in place to implement school gardens at the Early

Learning Center and Crossroads Transitional Academy next school term. Grow towers for

hydroponic gardening is a new addition to the Farm to School program and can be found at

both Swainsboro High School and Emanuel County Institute. Grow towers allow students to

bring the “farm” inside and experience agriculture in the classroom without the need for soil or

sunlight. According to Mrs. Hooks, “gardening efforts have already produced great results and

with the entire outdoors as our laboratory the sky is the limit”!

After the business session and a short presentation by Dr. Denise Warnock on the Read United Project, the meeting was adjourned by President Renae McNeely.