McIntosh students enjoy the spice of life in South Dakota thanks to Grants in Place

An innovative food science teacher is helping students explore the benefits (and tastiness!) of locally-sourced foods.

November 8, 2017 |
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A member of the Unboxed! team at McIntosh High School in South Dakota prepares homemade pasta alfredo. This Grants in Place student-centered project teaches students about the benefits of locally-sourced food.

We love to hear about the progress of our Grants in Place across the country - and this fall we are getting some fantastic stories from the Dakotas, where RSC and Dakota Resources have partnered in the "Growing Better Together" Grants in Place program.

In McIntosh, South Dakota, LaKisha Jordan, family and consumer science teacher at McIntosh High School, has led a student-centered effort in her classroom that promotes local foods and how to prepare them in a healthy, delicious and nutritious manner.

She and her students have titled the initiative, Unboxed! which aims to encourage and educate students and families about the benefits of local food sources. The program is summarized on the home page of the website (shown at right):

"Home delivered boxes of fresh ingredients are all the rage right now. We want to "unbox" you by giving you great meal ideas using locally purchased fresh ingredients and step-by-step video and live tutorials.

The Tiger Chefs at MHS want to sneak you into the world of culinary artistry and give you an unscripted, unprocessed, unpretentious, and often time unhinged view of delicious epicurean delights."

You can watch Ms. Jordan's students prepare their locally-sourced foods online via their website. We love the local-inspiration for these hands-on learning experiences! Congratulations to Ms. Jordan and her students for creating not only fantastic dishes, but also engaging multimedia to promote this food-centered connection to place.

Congratulations, Ms. Jordan and students! Pictured below with RSC Board President Jim Beddow.



The 2017-18 Grants in Place program is a cooperative venture between the Rural Schools Collaborative, partner organizations and committed donors. This year's funding will support 35 projects serving as many as 45 communities in 11 states.

More than twenty funders and individual donors came together to invest $136,000 in rural place-based education initiatives and projects supporting community-based student learning that serves a public purpose.


Learn more about RSC Grants in Place at our SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS page.

†Dr. Jim Beddow, longtime RSC advocate, board member and chair emeritus, and passed away on June 25, 2023. Read more about his legacy.

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