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On Thursday, a reception was held at the SPAM Museum for the opening of the second “A Work of Art — Creating Food Security” exhibit presented by the Hometown Food Security Project (HFSP.)

The displays feature a variety of content by Austin High School students including drawings, paintings, pottery, essays and photography, which highlight the issue of food insecurity.

It would be an easy thing to once again talk about the project itself, which continues the effort of creating food security here in Mower County, but we want to focus on the event itself because it shows that kids get it.

It’s been said over and over again, and yet it becomes no less true, that food insecurity is a difficult challenge to overcome, and the HFSP is bringing people and organizations together in an effort to meet that challenge.

It takes people of all backgrounds to find those answers and creating projects like this art show is one step of that because society is going to need forward thinkers who come from these younger generations who can provide those fresh ideas.

One way to look at this is that students are the direct beneficiaries of these efforts when the state of Minnesota passed legislation that would guarantee students would receive free meals at school. This creates perspective and what we hope will be a chain of consequences that will lead to new voices in this crusade to find food security.

Students who sometimes would unfortunately go through a school day without eating are getting meals and food that proves beneficial in helping children concentrate and thrive in their studies. In turn, this creates the opportunity for new voices who might be asking, “What now can I do?”

We highly recommend you take some time and visit the museum and see how this issue is represented in the artwork and words of students who in one way or another are taking an active role in ensuring everybody has food in our area.

The display is up through Sunday.