LANDIS — Bread Riot, the Salisbury-based nonprofit, donated $500 to the Future Farmers of America club at Corriher-Lipe Middle School late last month.

“These are potential future farmers,” Bread Riot Board member Teri Davies said. “We really believe in supporting the farmers as much as we believe in supporting the community. I am a relatively new member on the board but that is what I have picked up so far.”

Bread Riot’s state mission is to link farms to tables by supporting small farmers and providing access to locally produced foods throughout the community.

“We provide locally grown foods to all people, including those who might not have access; we provide support to local farmers to expand their production and reach; and we provide educational opportunities to enhance understanding of local food options,” the organization’s website said.

Bread Riot President Dottie Hoy added, “We get grants and we spend it all with local farmers paying them full price for their produce that we then give away to people who need it.”

On Aug. 23, Davies and Hoy visited Corriher-Lipe to present the students and FFA coordinator Alice Dollar with the $500 check. As the FFA program expands at Corriher-Lipe, so do the opportunities. They just acquired a hydroponics system and are turning their attention to the construction of a greenhouse.

So what is a hydroponics system?

“A hydroponic system is a way to grow plants using water,” Dollar said. “In a lot of ways, it uses a lot less water than traditional agriculture does because the water get re-circulated through the system. We add nutrients to the water. It goes down over the roots of the plants and then the plants are able to take that and grow. We are able to use the system inside, which means that we have the full year of a growing season versus a typical growing season.”

With the new system, Dollar and her agriculture students already have big plans in place.

“With the hydroponics system that we have, we are going to start growing (butter) lettuce,” Dollar said. “What we don’t use for the staff salad subscription program, I am hoping that we will be able to sell some of our lettuce to (Bread Riot) because if we are able to produce 100 heads of lettuce every two weeks, that is way more than what we are going to be able to use. Hopefully, they will be able to find a use for it.”

Dollar explained that every agriculture student at Corriher-Lipe becomes a member of the FFA chapter. So, a lot of her students have agriculture on their minds, and many of them are excited about learning more to add to their current understanding of how gardening and farming work.

“My dad grows a garden every summer,” Chipper Rohletter said. “He grows a bunch of different vegetables like tomatoes and broccoli.”

Rohletter said he likes to help his father’s gardening efforts.

“Sometimes, it can be fun,” Rohletter said.

Classmate Ana Reyes has learned a lot from her mom, who used to work with a greenhouse in Salisbury.

“She grew a lot of plants and learned a lot about agriculture,” Reyes said. “She has a garden at her house and takes a lot of pride in knowing how to keep it well. She tries to teach me stuff and it’s difficult.”

Even at a young age, Reyes knows that most things worth doing take a little effort, but that makes it more worthwhile.

“She takes a lot of pride in showing me how to do stuff, and I think if I also knew how to do that stuff on my own, she would be really proud of me,” Reyes said.

Aiden Wickersham said that his mom grows okra and peppers and that even though he doesn’t like okra or peppers, he does “like gardening” and wants “to have plants” in his room.

A couple of more seasoned FFA members were there that day, too.

“Coming into this, I did not know anything to start with,” said Carson Honeycutt. “I learned from Ms. Dollar about starting up and learning land, and now I am getting onto learning about animals. That has helped me more.”

FFA member Ansley Plyler said that it’s not just learning about agriculture but learning to be a more well-rounded person, too.

“My favorite part about FFA was meeting new people, getting some of my closest friends from FFA and also what we have learned from it,” Plyler said. “Some of us came in here not knowing anything about FFA and being able to do something and learning something to use in a future career.”

Plyler added that her teacher has been a huge influence.

“If it was not for Ms. Dollar I might not be in FFA,” Plyler said.

It seems the sky’s the limit for what might grow at Corriher-Lipe.