Friday was our last day of screenings in California, and we were lucky enough to screen the documentary for two FFA chapters in the Central Coast. This is the region of America that grows most of our nation's vegetables, and a lot more than that. It's a perfect climate, never snowing, and driving through there are towns dedicated to crops- like the "garlic capital of the world", or the "artichoke capital".
We arrived at Templeton HS before school started and were joined by Ms. Thompson's first period class of 25, and then by her second period of 25 as well. The students were so engaged, so respectful, and asked very intelligent questions. After the class was over, students took the time say thanks, before heading to the next period.
We thanked Ms. Thompson, and the kind woman managing the space. We drove South to San Luis Obispo, where we had lunch of rice cakes, peanut butter and honey before heading to San Luis Obispo HS. The parking lot has many solar arrays, that double as garages. Big stands hold solar panels, and cars park underneath, with the solar panels powering the school.
Ms. Evans was kind enough to host us, and I was introduced by the FFA chapter president, Ben, who had a natural inclination towards public speaking. We watched the first third of the film, before Joel Judge, another farmer named Steve Johns and a veteranarian named Marissa Greenburg joined a conversation with the 120 students crammed into a room for 80. Students asked a lot of questions, and the good folks on the panel shared knowledge. Joel's daughter was in the room, and he made a point to let everyone know :) There were some differences of opinion about agriculture in the room, however, by the end of the day there was a lot we could all agree on. Firstly, and most importantly, that it's a great time for young people to get into agriculture, and that our rural heritage is vital to our identity and our success as a nation.
After buying an external hard drive, and getting some food, we headed South to Los Angeles. Next stop, Texas.
