Hurricane High School seniors (left to right) Elizabeth Lawhon, Meredith Gillespie, Kayla Hinkley and Johnna Green (back) will present a project in Washington, D.C., urging fast-food restaurants to buy locally.
HURRICANE, W.Va. -- A team of Hurricane High School students is working on a project to establish greater food sustainability in the area by trying to get fast food restaurants to buy their produce from local growers.
"We're looking at major fast-food places to see where their food originates," said Kayla Hinkley, 18. "When people grow locally and restaurants support that, it cuts down on their carbon footprint."
The group has been chosen to participate in this year's USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C., where they will present their project, "How Far Does Your Fast Food Travel?"
The students will measure the distance on maps with paper clips to represent how far the ingredients travel to reach local fast-food restaurants.
"Anything closer is healthier and benefits everyone as long as it's plausible," Hinkley said. "We're trying to get companies and growers to cooperate."
The group also will submit its research to the Siemens' "We Can Change the World" Challenge. Advising the group is Hurricane High teacher Kris Bybee-Finley, one of 50 teachers from across the country to be chosen as a Siemens teacher.
"If we can get one restaurant to agree to buy locally, it may change how other restaurants do business in our area," she said. "It could provide more jobs and healthier food to our community."
Johnna Green, 18, said she was surprised at how open the companies have been to the group's suggestions. However, getting hold of the right person to talk to has been challenging.
HURRICANE, W.Va. -- A team of Hurricane High School students is working on a project to establish greater food sustainability in the area by trying to get fast food restaurants to buy their produce from local growers.
"We're looking at major fast-food places to see where their food originates," said Kayla Hinkley, 18. "When people grow locally and restaurants support that, it cuts down on their carbon footprint."
The group has been chosen to participate in this year's USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C., where they will present their project, "How Far Does Your Fast Food Travel?"
The students will measure the distance on maps with paper clips to represent how far the ingredients travel to reach local fast-food restaurants.
"Anything closer is healthier and benefits everyone as long as it's plausible," Hinkley said. "We're trying to get companies and growers to cooperate."
The group also will submit its research to the Siemens' "We Can Change the World" Challenge. Advising the group is Hurricane High teacher Kris Bybee-Finley, one of 50 teachers from across the country to be chosen as a Siemens teacher.
"If we can get one restaurant to agree to buy locally, it may change how other restaurants do business in our area," she said. "It could provide more jobs and healthier food to our community."
Johnna Green, 18, said she was surprised at how open the companies have been to the group's suggestions. However, getting hold of the right person to talk to has been challenging.
"They seemed willing to work with us," Green said, "but it's frustrating because one person transfers us to a different person, and you have to work your way up."
A dilemma companies face, Hinkley said, is that there must be a constant supply of food.
"You can't have a local grower without potatoes because they're out of season. They can't say, 'We're out of French fries.' There has to be a constant flow of food," she said. "Expectations and availability have to merge."
The students also said local growers would have to comply with standards the food industry is required to meet.
The group has contacted the Putnam County Farmers' Market and the county's WVU Extension Office.
"They were happy to talk to us," Green said, "because a lot of people our age don't usually care about stuff like this."
Reach Kate White at kate.wh...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1723.
