Agricultural education expanded its hands-on learning for Des Moines FFA members through the chapter’s new student-run market.
Located at Des Moines Public Schools’ Central Campus, Central Market officially launched in March, but it was in the works for more than a year before opening.
Des Moines FFA advisor Kevin Anderson initiated the project after being inspired by the student-operated grocery store at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, which he describes as “absolutely phenomenal.” He knew his students could benefit from something similar — and he was right.
“I wanted to give students the opportunity to learn about agriculture from when animals are bred all the way to the retail side of the process,” says Anderson, who also teaches animal science courses at Central Campus. “We already had an incredible school farm, but we needed a place to sell what our students were growing and producing, and that’s what we have now with Central Market.”
To make the market a reality, Anderson reached out to a Midwest grocery chain, Fareway Stores, for assistance. The company donated more than $35,000 in refrigerators and other necessary products. Fareway Stores employees also helped design the market layout, complete with supplying the dimensions for the checkout area.
Once the structure was in place, Anderson trained his students to operate the market and helped them connect with local vendors to add more supplies to their shelves, complementing the student-produced items.
“Our students raise pigs, lambs and goats, and after the animals are processed by a third-party company, we sell the meat in our store,” Anderson says. “We also sell eggs from our chickens, T-shirts made by our graphic design students and pottery from students at the nearby Central Academy. Additionally, students from our horticulture class often supply fresh-cut flower arrangements made from flowers grown at Central Campus, and in years to come, we will sell fruits like apples and peaches from our new on-campus orchard.”
Currently, three Des Moines FFA members are completing their supervised agricultural experience (SAE) programs by handling the day-to-day operations at Central Market, including selling, stocking, managing inventory and vendor relations, and marketing.
Although Anderson continues to supervise the market, he plans to step away after preparing students enrolled in the new Central Campus agricultural entrepreneurship class, taught by co-advisor Heidi Mandt.
“I want students to get the full experience of running a store from top to bottom because that’s what going to benefit them the most going forward,” he says. “This venture is about far more than teaching students to stock shelves; it’s aimed at preparing them to take on leadership roles and build careers in the ag business sector.”
Shop the Market
Central Market is open year-round from 3 – 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday as well as from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
