Published on June 27, 2024

The Mizzou Academy team recently packed over 1,000 lbs of rice at the Food Bank.

Mizzou Academy Serves

Several years ago, our Executive Director, Dr. Kathryn Fishman-Weaver started Mizzou Academy Serves. “We teach young people that they are never too young to make a difference and that no act of kindness, generosity, or service is ever wasted,” says Fishman-Weaver. “These small intentional acts are essential steps in improving global development and long-term outcomes. Our Mizzou Academy Serves projects are one way our faculty and staff can model this philosophy.”

The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri is a regular location for Mizzou Academy Serves events. Other local non-profits that Mizzou Academy has supported through this initiative include Heart of Missouri CASA and Central Missouri Foster Care and Adoption. These agencies both support children and youth who are navigating the foster care system in mid-Missouri. 

“It always feels good to help,” says Sarah Williams, our Support Service Specialist. Williams is a regular participant in the Mizzou Academy Serves project, and this was her second team food pack with the food bank. 

Local Impact. Global Curriculum.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 is to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. 

In the United States, Feeding America is doing important work to help meet this sustainable goal by addressing food insecurity. According to their website, priorities for this work include: 

• Ensuring everyone can get the food they need with respect and dignity. 
• Advocating for policies that improve food security for everyone.
• Partnering to address the root causes of food insecurity, like the high cost of living and lack of access to affordable housing.

These priorities both map against SDG 2 on the global level and have resonance for local food banks across the nation.

Many of our courses and programs at Mizzou Academy align with the United Nations SDGs and the Feeding America mission. Our students often engage in work within their local communities to address food insecurity through food and resource drives, serving in their communities, and preparing food for under-resourced neighbors. 

This June our Mizzou Academy Serves efforts also focused on this critical sustainable development goal. Ericca Thornhill, our Division Chair for Sciences, shared that Mizzou Academy Service events support her work in the classroom and make her proud to be part of this school community. “I signed up for the food bank event,” she said, “because I’m proud to be part of a school community that values service by action and wants to support that. I’m honored to be invited to help participate. I will always remember how heavy a tub of rice can be. I have never carried so much rice in my life. It makes me appreciate the calories in the food and how it can help those who are hungry. Working at the food bank is a great connection to science. The physical world is what scientists study, and by understanding that better, we can be more effective changemakers.”

This philosophy of leadership through service is embedded in our school mission to “honor students as they grow toward their individual potential and solve global challenges.” Over the past three years, Mizzou Academy has welcomed students from 60 different countries. As a global school, we often explore the ways global issues are local issues. 

Professional Learning at the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri 

Columbia, MO’s Feeding America member bank is The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri. They distribute millions of pounds of food annually to partner agencies across our 32-county area. In their 2023 volunteer report, the Food Bank writes that “volunteer service is at the heart of [their] mission.” In one year, volunteers helped pack over 22 million meals. 

In Mid-June, a Mizzou Academy team of 14 faculty, staff, and students helped pack 1,000 lbs of rice. This team included Jackie Kay, Sarah Williams, Alicia (and Jim) Bixby, Julie Phelps, Barbie Banks, Ericca (and Travis) Thornhill, Karen (and Callum) Scales, Virginia Poehlman, Lilah Weaver, and Kathryn Fishman-Weaver.

Lilah Weaver was one of our student representatives. She is a local middle school student who takes high school French with Mizzou Academy.  She is also a regular volunteer in the Columbia community. Lilah shared that she “really enjoyed packing rice because I could see the difference we were making.” 

The rice our team packed will make its way to more than 145 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other agencies. 

Our counselor, Alicia Bixby volunteers with some of these partner agencies across Columbia. She encourages others to volunteer at the Food Bank: “It’s an easy and enjoyable way to do a small thing to help those less fortunate in our community.”

Both Bixby and Williams referenced the team bonding as a favorite memory from serving together. During our shift we talked about grandkids, movies, music, and stand-up paddle board adventures. These fun family adventure stories don’t always come up during the regular school day. 

Bixby has participated in several Mizzou Academy Serves projects, including other food packs and our coat drive for Central Missouri Foster Care and Adoption Association. “I want our community to be a better place for everyone in it.”  For her, this community includes our global community. As the faculty sponsor for our National Honor Society chapter, Bixby supports students in leading service projects around the globe.

Serving the Food Bank’s Veteran Programs 

This month, Mizzou Academy invited participation in back-to-back events benefiting the Food Bank of Central and Northeast Missouri. Our second event was the annual Hope for Heroes 5K.

The Hope for Heroes 5K is a benefit run for the Food Bank’s veteran programs, including the VIP Veteran Pack Program. VIP Packs provide additional nutrition to food-insecure veterans, including ready-to-eat entrees, soup, and fruit and vegetables in easy-to-open cans. They also provide toiletries such as razors, body wash, and deodorant. The Food Bank distributes VIP Packs in 13 counties, with ongoing efforts to further expand the program.

Several members of the Mizzou Academy food pack team also gathered bright and early on Saturday, June 15, at Columbia’s Cosmo Park to join with event sponsors, volunteers, and virtual participants to run or walk the 5K double loop through the park.  Dr. Fishman-Weaver says, “It takes a special person to sign up for a 5K on a Saturday at 7:30 am with your colleagues.”

Educational Program Coordinator, Karen Scales shares that she was inspired to join both the food pack and 5K events by seeing the Mizzou Academy Serves mission come full-circle in our classrooms across the globe. “We strive to empower students to know that they are not only the leaders of tomorrow, but changemakers in the world right now, right where they are, today.” She continued, “I see Mizzou Academy student-leaders answer the call every day as they share stories and progress reports about their local service projects, volunteer efforts, and awareness campaigns. They inspire me to step up my game.” 

This was Mizzou Academy’s second year putting together a 5K team for this important event. We hope to continue to grow our team in coming years. 

“I loved doing the 5K,” said 13-year-old Lilah Weaver, “because it was cool to see all these people come out to support our veteran community”