AKRON – Tippecanoe Valley High School students have completed a shelter that will be used to raise cattle for the school cafeteria. The project came about after students discussed declining quality of food after new federal regulations on cafeteria food last year. Jeff Shriver, who teaches government and economics, talked to his students about solving the problem. They discussed looking at a greenhouse as other schools had done, but settled on a project to raise cattle at the school, Shriver said. The idea was floated by seniors in last year’s class, but after a tour to a slaughterhouse in Colfax, this year’s students took the plan to the next level, he said. Seniors presented the plan to the school board in May. After school board approval, the students sought donations and made plans for the cattle shelter. The program, called Farm to Fork, will allow students to raise and feed beef cattle to be sold in the cafeteria. Shriver said it will be a real-world experience for students to see first hand how the cattle go from “hooves on to the ground” to the students’ plates. The students toured a slaughterhouse in Colfax and began building the shelter. Once the cattle are raised and used for beef, the beef will be used in all Tippecanoe Valley School?Corporation lunch rooms. On Tuesday, the shelter was completed and Shriver said the school expects to have cattle in the shelter by January. The school hopes the cows will be ready to be slaughtered for meat by spring break, he said. Students will get hands-on experience raising cattle and feeding them to get the cows ready to be turned in to beef. Agriculture teacher Mike Jones said it will be great as students can look at different kinds of feed and learn when the best times to buy and sell the cattle are. For many of the students involved in the program, raising cattle is nothing new. Shriver said it’s project-based learning. He pointed out students in economics, agriculture and construction classes have already contributed to the project. Senior Hope Manns said she grew up on rasing cattle and now she gets share her passion with other students. She said she was excited to leave something behind for future generations of students, however, it was a little bittersweet. “It hurts me a little that?I won’t be able to see the program grow,” she said. The program will start with four cows, and could grow from there. Aerin?Shewman, a senior, said that eventually she would like to see all beef in the school district come from cows raised and fed by students. Shriver said the future of the program will depend on student involvement. “This is a student-run program,” he said. “If the students don’t want to do this in the future, the program will probably die.” Shriver said the administration and the local community has been supportive in getting the project going. The project is being funded through grants and money made from school lunches. “The closer it gets to reality, the more excited I am about the project,”?Jones said.
