“Cooking is love made visible.” Those words are plastered above the door of the Anaheim Packing House, part of the city’s famous Packing District.

What was once an old citrus packing warehouse is now a renovated home for restaurants, cafes, bars and much more. In short, this is the one-stop shop for all foodies in Anaheim, Calif.

What sets this place apart from all others is that every chef in that building truly lives by the quote plastered above the doors. They love what they do, and they share that love through their food.

After leaving the Packing District, I knew that I wanted to share that love with those in need.

My high school, Frontier, was already partnering with a local organization to provide students in need with backpacks of food to take home with them on the weekends. Since many of these students cannot afford healthy, nutritious food, school meals are their main source of nutrition.

While vital and beneficial for students, the program is expensive to fund. After hearing how expensive it is and how many students rely on this program, I knew this was where I could use my passion for food and service.

Step in and help

I created a community breakfast to spread awareness and raise money for the backpack program. The idea was simple: Make and sell breakfast to the community, and donate all the profits to our backpack program. Of course, everything is so much simpler in your head.

When that idea is brought into the real world, issues start rearing their ugly heads.

When it came to carrying out this breakfast idea, challenges were never-ending. What about location, menu, timing, scheduling, volunteers, budget and profit? As soon as one problem was resolved, another quickly stepped in to replace its predecessor.

A month later, I stood in my high school culinary arts classroom, staring at my classmates. We were exhausted and energized at the same time. After hours of cooking, serving and selling, we had done it. We raised over $350 for the backpack program. Pride, joy, excitement and fulfillment flooded inside me. That day we had shared our love through food.

As I sit back and think about this, I realize that this breakfast was part of a much larger narrative. It’s about food, poverty, agriculture, and me and you. That day we made love visible, but this is hardly the first time we’ve seen food and agriculture work in tandem to impact communities.

Start today

Anne Frank said, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” Food and agriculture are about much more than feeding people. Food and agriculture are about improving the world. They are the heart and soul of our country.

In the future, I hope to see chefs and farmers working together to better their communities. Imagine a future where food grown in a community feeds its people, funds its farmers and brings the community together all at the same time. I think it is possible, but this cannot be accomplished alone. Let’s take Anne Frank’s advice and not wait another moment to start improving the world. Ask yourself, how will you better the world? Now go do it.

Sproles is the 2020-21 Indiana FFA sentinel.