By Arizona Farm Bureau Ag Education Director Katie Aikins: For three months, 24 schools across the state collected coins as part of the From Farm to Football Harvest for All Coin Drive. Classrooms collected their coins for a cause: to help feed the hungry in their community. As a result of the funds raised, four of Arizona’s Community Food Banks received checks to continue their mission of fighting hunger.

  1. St Mary’s Food Bank:             $2,397.13
  2. United Food Bank:                  $446.37
  3. Yuma Community Food Bank: $232.96
  4. Gila Valley Community Food Bank: $1583.89

In total, $4,660.35 was raised by Arizona students through the From Farm to Football Harvest For All Coin Drive. Sharman Hickman of Hickman’s Family Farms “believes the most valuable players of our future are the youth in our communities.” Hickman is looking forward to next year’s program “where the game plan is to have every Arizona elementary student raise $1 in pennies to fight hunger.”

A special thank you to MidFirst Bank for the use of their coin-counting van and their $500 donation to the program. Here the kindergartners at Trinity Lutheran Elementary in Litchfield Park wait in line to count their pennies while Hickman's Family Farms' Funky attempts to keep them entertained.

As part of the From Farm to Football Program, classes were also competing for the chance to win an Arizona Cardinals Day at their school. The class that collected the largest dollar amount through the coin drive received a 1.5-hour event that included the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders, Big Red, Arizona Cardinals Running Back David Johnson, Hickman’s Family Farms and Arizona Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom Program.

The big winners of this prize were the kindergartners at Trinity Lutheran Elementary in Litchfield Park who raised $565.01 for their local food bank. “I try to teach my students the importance of helping others and let my students know that every penny counts when it is given with love to help those in need,” said Kindergarten Teacher Ms. Haddad. “This program was the perfect opportunity for them to see that.”

As the contest wrapped up, Arizona Farm Bureau's Ag in the Classroom program was awash in coins from students all over Arizona. The $4,660.35 raised went to four different food banks to feed the hungry. 

Another lucky winner was the Kindergarten Team at Eduprize Elementary in Gilbert who not only raised $230.25 for their local food bank, but $218.72 was only pennies. This was the largest amount of pennies collected through the program. Because of this, the Kindergarten Team at Eduprize Elementary in Gilbert is receiving a special Hickman’s Breakfast Event. Both school events will take place sometime in February.

Thank You To all the From Farm to Football Harvest for All Coin Drive Participants

Buckeye Elementary                          Buckeye                      5th Grade                     $12.36

Challenger Basic School                    Gilbert                        Kinder                         $84.08

Cochise Elementary                           Scottsdale                   5th Grade                     $15.74

Copper King Elementary                   Phoenix                       6th Grade                     $3.64

Copper Ridge Elementary                  Scottsdale                   4th Grade                     $113.63

Desert Cove Elementary                    Phoenix                       5th Grade                     $41.58

Desert Mirage Elementary                 Glendale                     5th Grade                     $126.51

Eduprize                                             Gilbert                        Kinder                         $230.25

Jack Barnes Elementary                   Queen Creek               4th Grade                     $47.03

James B Rolle Elementary                 Yuma                          5th Grade                     $49.10

Jasinski Elementary                           Buckeye                      2nd Grade                    $21.83

La Tierra Community School            Prescott                       3rd Grade                     $

LePera Elementary                             Parker                         2nd Grade                    $19.94

LePera Elementary                             Parker                         3rd Grade                     $44.34

Odyssey Prep Academy                     Buckeye                      1st Grade                     $77.24

Palmcroft Elementary                         Yuma                          2nd Grade                    $13.30

Palo Verde Elementary                      Palo Verde                  1st grade                      $27.11

Palo Verde Elementary                      Palo Verde                  3rd Grade                     $69.93

Palo Verde Elementary                      Palo Verde                  4th Grade                     $25.75

Pendergast Elementary                      Glendale                     3rd Grade                     $125.16

Ronald Reagan Fundamental             Yuma                          2nd Grade                    $106.28

San Tan Heights K-8                          San Tan Valley           6th Grade                     $11.81

Shumway Leadership Academy         Chandler                     1st Grade                     $23.41

Summit Academy                               Chandler                     3rd Grade                     $49.79

Sunridge Elementary                          Phoenix                       3rd Grade                     $4.63

Sunridge Elementary                          Phoenix                       5th Grade                     $18.52

Sunset Canyon Elementary                Phoenix                       3rd Grade                     $66.96

Trinity Lutheran                                 Litchfield Park                Kinder                         $565.01

Left to Right: Avondale Mayor Ken Weise, Sharman Hickman of Hickman's Family Farm and Arizona Farm Bureau's Katie Aikins (red shirt) present checks to Agua Fria Community Food Bank Leanne Leonard and St Mary's Food Bank Tim Olorunfemi.

The From Farm to Football Program is a state-wide education program from Hickman’s Family Farms in partnership with the Arizona Cardinals and is administered by Arizona Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom Program. With monthly video messages from David Johnson and pen pal letters from Arizona farmers and ranchers, Arizona students were able to learn about the importance of agriculture on and off the football field. In the first year for the program, 570 classes participated with nearly 17,700 students.

For more information about the program and Arizona Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom visit us on the web at www.azfb.org.

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