(06/25/25) BATON ROUGE, La. — While 4-H University week had the LSU campus bustling with daily activity, Louisiana 4-H staff took great pride in kicking off the festivities with a community service project. Youth from across the state worked hand in hand with volunteers from the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank to pack healthy meals for food-insecure residents.

4-H University – or 4-H U – is a weeklong, statewide event where members from grades 8 through 12 gather to culminate the previous school year by competing in various educational contests and meeting peers from different backgrounds to learn and share experiences. It was in this setting that the service-learning effort took place.

Billed as “a collaborative effort that combines the expertise of food banks with the reach of healthcare facilities,” the Food is Medicine program assists food-insecure individuals by providing boxes of health-forward foods during health care appointments as well as information connecting them to their local Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) outreach coordinator if further assistance is needed.

“Hospitals in the area assess patients to determine if they are experiencing food insecurity, and if they are identified as food insecure, they are given a Food is Medicine box right then and there packed with low sodium, high fiber and low sugar foods,” said 4-H Healthy Living Program coordinator Claire Zak. “So today we are packing those boxes, which will be donated to local hospitals.”

During the day, more than 600 youth participants attended the event, which had them walking from table to table packing boxes at the 4-H Mini Barn adjacent to the Parker Coliseum on LSU’s main campus. Each table had placards on them denoting the name of the item and to which food group they belonged.

“It allows our students as they walk through what it might be like for a client of a food pantry to have the opportunity to choose their different items,” Zak said. “That process gives dignity to the clients and provides a shift in perspective of the different ways food pantries can serve their communities.”

Associate 4-H department head Kimberly Williams, who was in attendance, said this type of project demonstrates the power of working together to make a difference.

“I am proud of our 4-H youth and the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank team,” she said. “Together, we are tackling food insecurity and building a stronger community.”

Zak said the goal for the 4-H’ers is to see that they can be part of a larger mission by partnering with members in their individual communities to make an impact.

“Over the past year, hunger and poverty has been our service-learning focus,” Zak said. “This project is just another piece of the puzzle where the students can hone their skills that they’ve learned during their time in 4-H and see how they’ve grown throughout the year.”

While making that impact the students enjoyed a break from the heat and an energizing music playlist curated by Mark Walker, a 10-year veteran of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. Serving as a captain, Walker kept the proceedings rolling for the 4-H’ers as well as his adult volunteers.

“It’s important to get the kids interested in volunteerism to show them how they can make a difference in their own communities,” Walker said. “And maybe one day when they have their own jobs as adults, their volunteer experiences can turn them into donors as well.”

4-H’ers make an impact as they pack and carry boxes at a community service event held during 4-H University. Louisiana 4-H partnered with the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank for its Food is Medicine Program, which assists food insecure people during healthcare visits. Photo by V. Todd Miller/LSU AgCenter

Louisiana 4-H partnered with the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank for its Food is Medicine program, which assists food insecure people during healthcare visits. Placards on each food table denoted the name of the item and the food group to which each belongs. Photo by V. Todd Miller/LSU AgCenter