Pizz-A-Thon

80+ Fourth Grade Students participated in Pizz-A-Thon at Echo Hill Elementary.

Tuesday, March 6, 2018 Sarah Russell and Ryan Kreher, fourth grade teachers at Echo Hill Elementary, hosted an annual Pizz-A-Thon event in Marion, Iowa.

Pizz-A-Thon was founded 19 years ago by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach employee, Eldon Weber.

According to the Pizz-A-Thon website, “Pizz-A-Thon is dedicated to teaching students about agriculture and where their food comes from. By doing this, we create a more educated workforce, some of which will go into the food industry and continue to feed American into the future.”

Through the program, students work in teams to trace the ingredients on their pizza back to the farm. Each group was required to research wheat, two meats, three vegetables (including tomatoes) and cheese.

Come time for competition day, Happy Joe’s Pizza donated all of the ingredients for each team to bake their presentation pizza.

Linn County Farm Bureau Education Outreach was invited to coordinate judges. Thank you to the following judges for participating; Shelby Schaefers, Ag in the Classroom Coordinator; Vicki Keegan, community member; and Elizabeth Davis, Marion Hy-Vee Chef.

Marilyn Platner, retired Linn County Farm Bureau OA, said, “It is always so fun to see this education ag event continue…those 4th graders learn so much about agriculture and this year they also showed computer skills with colorful presentations.

Are you interested in learning more about Pizz-A-Thon? Email mball@ifbf.org.