K-State Open House is just nine days away, and that’s when Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow plans to start a new tradition.
The club will host the first ever Farm to Fork 5K. The run is not just a fundraiser for ACT however, as a portion of the proceeds will go to the Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom.
Brooke Harshaw, vice president of development for ACT; Kennedy St. George, Ag Council representative and advertising committee chair for Farm to Fork 5K; and Jordan Pieschl, web designer, said they are excited about the run and have been working hard with members of ACT since November to plan it.
“Everyone has been working really hard to get things done,” Harshaw, junior in agricultural communications and journalism, said. “Our hardest part has been getting sponsorship, but people are really trying.”
The run will start at 8 a.m. on April 11 at Waters Hall lawn. Participants will run around and through campus to end the 5K back at Waters Hall. ACT collaborated with running specialty store Manhattan Running Company to plan the event.
“Working with Manhattan Running Company was very nice and they really helped us make it so we wouldn’t be shutting roads down for the run,” Harshaw said.
Along the route of the run there will be signs with information about the agricultural industry. The three main topics on the signs will be wheat, bacon and maple syrup, which are all produced in Kansas.
“We picked those as our main topics because they are produced in Kansas, but also because we will have maple-bacon donuts at the end as a treat,” Pieschl, junior in agricultural communications and journalism, said.
Having students plan the first effort of the event has been exciting for ACT; students were able to practice skills they have learned at K-State and through past experiences. ACT members did all the advertising themselves, which includes making the website and sending out all the letters for sponsorship.
“We have put flyers in the dorms, the Rec and across campus,” St. George, senior in agricultural communications and journalism, said. “We have also really pushed on social media to sign up on our website, which is kstateact5k.wordpress.com, and there is some information on there about ACT and then the online registration.”
ACT invites everyone from students to faculty to community members to come run in the first annual Farm to Fork 5K. Funds raised will not only to help members of the club go to conferences, but will also be donated to the KFAC.
“We believe that KFAC is a really good organization, because it allows kids to learn about agriculture in school and to learn where their food is coming from,” Pieschl said.
