Bacon, eggs, and pancakes are all served hot and fresh each year at the Ionia Free Fair 4-H Food Booth! Recently, a group of ten GreenStone team members from different branches and departments volunteered at the booth – serving up hot breakfast food for the Ionia community.
Throughout the week of the fair, youth and volunteers involved with 4-H take shifts running the 4-H Food Booth. It is a good way for these children and young adults to give back to their fair community. All the proceeds from the Food Booth are given back to support the local 4-H groups.
Every year, Greenstone’s Ionia branch volunteers to serve breakfast for a morning, and this year, they decided to whisk things up a bit and reach out to other supporting staff like interns and the Marketing/PR department to help volunteer. Josie Koenigsknecht, Digital Communications Specialist out of GreenStone’s corporate office in East Lansing, grew up attending the Ionia fair. She gained a new perspective after this volunteer experience.
“To some people, it probably seemed that GreenStone was there to give back to the community, but I feel like I gained a lot more than I gave,” explained Koenigsknecht. “Yes, I put food on a plate and handed it out to them out the window, but I feel like I took away so much knowledge and perspective. I saw the fair again through a whole different lens! It gave me just a deeper understanding of what it's like to be involved in their community and see there is just so much passion for those who are involved in the agriculture industry and those who contribute to it.”
Olivia Gallt, Marketing & Graphic Design Intern in GreenStone’s corporate office, also volunteered at the food booth, and felt it was beneficial to her internship here at GreenStone.
“It was a great experience to see how GreenStone’s staff interacts with customers and seeing how we do things for the community,” said Gallt. “It was also nice to work as a team with my fellow interns and staff members to serve other.”
Overall, this group of staff was happy to interact with our local community. Serving breakfast is one small way to share our gratitude with those who support programs like 4-H and the future of agriculture.
GreenStone plans to continue supporting the Ionia Free Fair next year, so stop by the Food Booth and visit some of your favorite GreenStone employees while enjoying a good breakfast! For more about our community outreach and engagement efforts, visit our page here.
