Through a collaborative partnership, Jackson State University students bagged 20,000 pounds of sweet potatoes donated by an area farm and distributed the produce Tuesday to a horde of motorists in its first-ever university-sponsored Crop Drop.
The staging ground for the event, which allowed hundreds of JSU freshmen to earn community service hours, was in the parking lot in front of Jackson Public Schools’ Blackburn Laboratory Middle School, 1311 W. Pearl Street. The affair, which started at 8 a.m., was a joint effort by the Center for University-based Development (CUBD), the Society of St. Andrew, as well the Alice Varnado Harden Center for Service and Engaged Learning, which organized 250 student-volunteers.
Heather Wilcox, of the Neighborhood Development coordinator for University-based Development, said, “It was a huge success. We distributed 2,100 bags of potatoes in just over two hours.”
The sentiment over achieving such a major accomplishment was echoed by Andy Lemmon, program coordinator for the Society of St. Andrew, which has been doing Crop Drops for a while now.
“Getting 20,000 pounds of food packed, sorted and distributed was done in a record time,” he told the media.
Wilcox said many drivers were in awe, asking why the institution was involved in such a project. “We tell them that JSU is the community, and the community is JSU. Also, I told them we are service-oriented, and this is a way for students to give back in a small yet impactful way.”
The system worked flawlessly: Community members drove up, told how many bags they wanted, and students placed items in motorists’ vehicles.
Wilcox said Lemmon originally was concerned that the effort would fall far short of its goal. Instead, she said, “Students debunked that pessimism by bagging every single potato. Actually, we ran out of produce by 10 a.m. (two hours ahead of schedule) and had to turn away people. The success speaks to the organizers of the event, the publicity and the community’s response.”
An estimated 70 percent of “customers” were elderly, said Wilcox, giving credit and appreciation to the Johnnie Champion Senior Citizen Multi-Purpose Center, located off Hattiesburg Street and in the Washington Addition. The facility bused over dozens of people to the site.
While other Crop Drops sponsored by St. Andrew have included even more produce such as watermelons and corn, the first one held at JSU’s site included just sweet potatoes. The plan, Wilcox said, is to try to get other surplus foodstuffs for the next event. Still, residents were not dismayed.
Wilcox especially thanked “hardworking students” who must complete 120 hours of community service. Despite the requirement, she said they labored joyfully as they watched the many smiles of patrons.
Matter of fact, Wilcox said students “organically organized themselves” by taking ownership of the event and displaying leadership. She said they created an assembly line of sorts in which, for example, 50 people bagged potatoes; 50 transported the crop to a central location; 50 directed vehicles, 50 revved up the event with a pep rally; and others hoisted signs on the parkway to attract motorists.
“This was a great event for freshmen to get oriented to what a community project looks like.” She said this is especially important to JSU, which is located in an urban area surrounded by vibrant neighborhoods. “We don’t want there to be a separation between JSU; we want the connection with the community to be seamless.”
Plans are already under way for the next event. “This is on our radar as a must-do project.”
Overall, Wilcox said, this project helps students long-term to appreciate farming.
“Mississippi is an agricultural state. For many generations, agriculture and farming have been part of the people. However, over many decades, there has been a disconnection to the agricultural component of growing your own food by gardening, cultivating the soil and then harvesting products. This event ties the students to the historical nature of our state by reintroducing them to agriculture. It allows people to get their hands dirty by doing beneficial labor that can help sustain our communities.”
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Wilcox manages a community-focused blog at www.westjackson.com. For more information, call 601-979-5828 or email heather.a.wilcox@jsums.edu.