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The Ohio Soybean Council and soybean checkoff started Future Eats in 2018 to help young adults not only learn where their food comes from but also show the versatility of that food.

Future Eats is a program created to connect Ohio college students to Ohio farmers. The program also introduces students to soybeans and how important this versatile crop is to the food supply and economy.

 “Gen Z is curious about their food and how farmers grow it,” said Nathan Eckel, a Wood County soybean farmer and OSC board member. “There are a lot of programs out there that focus on teaching agriculture topics to young kids, but not as many that reach out to college students.”

 Future Eats aims to fill that age gap.

 “College and university students are in the process of forming their own independent views and perceptions of the world,” Eckel said. “In a few short years they will be working in their community as teachers, political leaders, writers, parents and more. The farmer leaders of the Ohio Soybean Council want these future community influencers to hear their story.”

Visitors to the Future Eats website can learn about the initiative and meet the Ohio farmers who share their story with consumers. Their bios showcase not only themselves and their farm, but their commitment to a safe and affordable food supply.

Farmers are passionate about what they do, and young consumers are passionate about what they eat. Bringing the two together to learn more about each other is one of the goals of the program.

 “We really value peer-to-peer outreach and have worked with many agriculture students as spokespeople,” Eckel said. “Future Eats will continue to build understanding between these two groups by creating opportunities for connection. This is a grassroots program and we plan to build on successes year after year.” 

 Visit FutureEats.org  for more information and student-created content. 

Featured Image: College students get to know farmers and learn more about not only where their food comes from, but who is responsible for growing it, via the Future Eats initiative through the Ohio Soybean Council. Students also learn how to work with food and create recipes.