Forge School is a small private institution southeast of Bend. Teacher at Forge, Todd Lafrenz says it takes a different approach to education, following the philosophy of teaching through “problem solving, story telling, and prototyping.”
“We got this idea of a mobile food prep trailer to prepare meals for Central Oregon Villages. We’re going to donate it to them,” student and Chief Design Officer of the project Chance Helt said.
Central Oregon Villages is a local non-profit. Its website says it is focused on providing a safe and secure place to live for those who experience homelessness.
Student and chief marketing officer of the project Owen South says the construction process has been a fun way to learn.
“I learned a lot about building and working with a team. It’s just been a really cool experience,” South said.
Soon the trailer will be outfitted with plumbing, 2 refrigerators, 2 sinks, counters, flooring and hot plates for cooking. Wiring for the electrical has already been taken care of.
Lafrenz explains how the project came to be.
“We were originally going to build a small, tiny house, but we turned it into a specialty use trailer,” Lafrenz said. “We realized the residents were gonna be outside cooking at all times of the year. So we thought ‘let’s give them an indoor space to store and prepare food.'”
Lafrenz says the trailer shows the kind of impact children can have.
“Having students being on real life projects like this and seeing the effect they can have on the community- the things that they can change, that they have the power to do,” Lafrenz said. “Giving kids those opportunities. Who would have thought that a group of middle schoolers could do this?’
The school is taking donations to complete the interior. If interested, you can donate here.
The construction crew hopes to have the trailer complete by late June.
