By Landee Kieschnick
TFB Communications Intern
Many watched as Savvy Shields of Fayetteville, Ark. wowed the Miss America judges in September enroute to taking home the crown.
As Miss America 2017, Shields’ message is simple: Eat better, live better.
A message that Shields said connects to agriculture.
“I am very passionate about teaching and inspiring people to eat healthy and to have healthy lifestyles,” Shields said in an interview with the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network at the recent American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in Phoenix, Ariz.
A positive advocate for eating better, as well as an art major at the University of Arkansas, Shields said her crowning of Miss America will hopefully help her to shed light and bring awareness to things she’s passionate about.
“My dream would be continuing to be involved with all the organizations I’ve fallen in love with this year and continue to use my voice and, hopefully, bring awareness to the people, organization and associations,” she said.
Shields’ message does not stop there. She was a guest in Phoenix of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture to promote agricultural literacy and the Foundation’s recommended books, including First Peas to the Table.
The book’s author, Susan Grigsby, shows how a school classroom, studying Thomas Jefferson and his contribution to agriculture, holds a contest to see who can grow the first peas of the season.
The Foundation recommends this book for anyone who would like to grow their own food, whether it be at home or at school. The differences between fruits and vegetables are also presented in the book, as well as the life cycle of the pea.
The Foundation is celebrating First Peas to the Table by sponsoring a national pea growing contest for all students ages K-5.
The winning team will receive a special visit from Shields herself as Miss America 2017.
For more information about the contest, visit www.agfoundation.org.