Applications for the Ballard Youth Leadership Program (Spring 2024) are closed. Please stay tuned as we make announcements for Spring 2025.
Applications for the Ballard Youth Leadership Program (Spring 2024) are closed. Please stay tuned as we make announcements for Spring 2025.
About the Program
Gain leadership skills, help solve communitywide problems and make a difference in your community! The Food Bank’s Ballard Youth Leadership Program will help you learn about food insecurity and develop skills to address issues faced by neighbors.
End hunger in your community
The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri created The Ballard Youth Leadership Program to give students, generally 14-18 years old, an opportunity to become involved in the mission to stop hunger in our community.
Behind the Ballard name
Marion and Shirley Ballard dedicated themselves to addressing hunger by volunteering at The Food Bank every week for over a decade. Students who participate in the Ballard Youth Program carry on the Ballard’s legacy and uphold this important mission for neighbors across mid-MO.
Eligibility
To be considered for the program, participants must be:
A high school student in central or northeast Missouri who lives or goes to school in The Food Bank’s 32-county service area;
Able to attend virtual and/or in-person information sessions and in-person volunteer sessions and meetings for special projects in your own community through one semester; and
Interested in serving as a leader who will address community-wide challenges.
How you’ll learn and grow
Ballard Youth leaders will:
Attend an education session on February 10, 2024;
Participate at The Food Bank events;
Volunteer at a local pantry partner or a mobile pantry; and
Complete a special project with the guidance of The Food Bank staff.
Special projects
Each program participant will select a special project based on their interests and skill sets. They will then be paired with a staff member who will provide assistance as the student develops and executes their project.
Potential leadership activities include, but are not limited to:
Organizing a food drive: Food drives allow communities to collect non-perishable items for The Food Bank and/or their local pantry. Leaders will organize a collection of some of our most needed items and transport them to the donation site.
Hosting a cooking demonstration or food tasting at local pantry: The Food Bank hosts a Pantry2Plate program that includes cooking demonstrations and food tastings at local pantries to help neighbors learn to prepare and cook a wide variety of produce and legumes. Leaders will work with dietitians to run and manage their own tasting/demonstration at a local pantry.