FFA member cooks up positive bytes during tasty Tuesdays

INDIANAPOLIS — Tess Seibel, the 2019-2020 National FFA eastern region vice president, has been using social media to make pantry snacks and chat with members.

Seibel and her officer teammates decided while they are practicing social distancing to start a social media platform to stay connected with FFA members and host a themed-video every Monday through Saturday featuring one of the six National FFA officers.

Seibel said that connecting with students is something she and her fellow teammates love, which is why they ran for National FFA office in the first place, but everything going on in the world right now has taught them it’s just not about connecting with FFA members in person or connecting with them at schools.

“We can use Zoom, FaceTime live and other technology to connect with members,” Seibel said.

Seibel said that her day of the week for hosting her positive videos to help stay connected with members is Thursday, which is when she hosts a Facebook Live and shows members how to make pantry snacks with ingredients that have stockpiled at home.

Besides just making a snack during her video, Seibel said she tries to incorporate a fun lesson about values along with it.

The National FFA eastern region vice president said that during her first video she focused on family traditions and celebrating them at home with the people you love.

Seibel said her mom helped make the snack, which was popcorn with different mix-ins added to it to make it sweet or savory.

Another of her videos focused on the things that hold FFA members together, like the stickiness of a Rice Krispies treat.

To help hit this point home, she had an FFA chapter in Indiana zoom conference call-in, so FFA members tuning in to her session could ask them questions and help celebrate FFA and the bond it forms.