When the Bayer Museum of Agriculture, in Lubbock, Texas, temporarily closed its doors to the public March 19, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it didn't close the gate on the museum's desire to continue to be a community resource. 

Saturday, April 25, 2020, the Bayer Museum of Agriculture is hosting a curbside event, Farmers Feed the Font Lines, for on-shift first responders. Meals will be served from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., to 300 of Lubbock's firemen, police, sheriffs, and paramedics while they are working their evening shift, says museum director Lacee Hoelting.

Event volunteers will adhere to safety guidelines for social distancing and food-preparation, she adds.

(An antique John Deere tractor on display at the entrance of the Bayer Museum of Agriculture.)

Initially, April 25 was reserved for the museum's annual fundraiser, Party on the Prairie, but the board of directors decided that date would be better served supporting Lubbock's first responders.

"We called a few of the Party on the Prairie sponsors and volunteers and asked if they would help us put on a different type of event, some way to give back, and like always, the agriculture community had our back," Hoelting says.

With the help of AgTexas Farm Credit and Jeana's Feedbag of Levelland, museum staff, volunteers, and board members, will prepare and distribute meals for Lubbock's first responders curbside at the museum's Mackenzie Park location, at 1121 Canyon Lake Drive, or deliver to stations with minimal person-to-person contact, says Hoelting.

(Bayer of Museum Agriculture's "Women in Agriculture" display.)

"From AgTexas buying the meat to a local farm family sewing and donating masks for volunteers to wear, it's exciting to see neighbors helping neighbors," she adds. 

Individuals interested in donating to Farmers Feed the Font Lines can click here. Proceeds will help cover the cost of supplies and meal preparation.

The Bayer Museum of Agriculture is a non-profit agricultural history and education center with more than 30,000 square feet of interior exhibit space and 24 acres. The museum showcases a combination of artifacts and modern technologies to tell the story of agriculture's past, present, and future.

To stay updated on the museum during the pandemic, Hoelting encourages people to follow the museum on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. For more information or to support the museum through annual membership or to become a volunteer, visit the website at www.agriculturehistory.org