In support of the Administrative Priority to Target Outreach and Expansion the "Mr. Etouffee" Agriculture Awareness Program was conducted to introduce students to agriculture and the origin of their food. The geography and specialized agriculture in far Southeast Texas was highlighted through a local dish (crawfish etouffee) that included the commodities of the area. Thus, the agents in Jefferson County introduced “Mr. Etouffee” to 348 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and 15 teachers at Lee Elementary in Port Arthur. This program received an AgriLife Extension grant for Urban Program Projects.
Each agent focused on an ingredient within the recipe to provide information about the ingredient and to introduce the importance of agriculture to the students. The Agriculture Agent focused on rice. Horticulture focused on herbs and spices. Crawfish production was covered by the Coastal and Marine Agent. The 4-H Agent concentrated on dairy production, specifically cream and butter. The Family and Consumer Sciences Agent focused on how the agriculture based ingredients blend together to make this local dish and the nutritional content of that dish. The Economic Development Agent discussed the economics of the various agriculture commodities to our area.
This educational activity included six sessions of 20 minute rotations to present their assigned topic. Many methods were used including lectures, discussion, PowerPoint presentations, displays, and hands-on activities. At the end of the six sessions the students and teachers were treated to Crawfish Etouffee on rice!
Three weeks prior to the “Mr. Etouffee” Day, the teachers developed curriculum and incorporated information about rice and crawfish into the students’ English, Math and Science classes. The students did journals which chronicled the information they gained and learned. They also researched the local commodities and agriculture. The journals generated knowledge and excitement for “Mr. Etouffee” Day.
To evaluate the program, the students were given a pre and post-test. The test consisted of twenty questions covering general information about the commodities and agriculture. The primary objectives were for the students to understand that farmers and ranchers produce our food and to gain awareness and knowledge of the importance of the products and agriculture to our lives. Based on scores on the pre and post-test, the “Mr. Etouffee” program did help students achieve these objectives.
This program was an exciting new twist on agriculture awareness efforts.
Content for this article was provided by Dale A. Fritz, Ph.D., District Extension Administrator-Texas AgriLife Extension Service.
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