Support
our farm-based education and infrastructure at
the Youth Farm Project as we adapt and grow in a changing political and
ecological climate.
This spring,
the farm’s infrastructure was shaken as heavy winds ripped a large steel
production greenhouse out of the ground and deposited it on an adjacent field
over 300 feet away. In the same month, we lost access to water when the well
system pump malfunctioned due to overworking during one of the worst droughts
in 15 years.
The young
people we work with understand the connection between the climate, the farm,
the policy environment, and community impact, and they're involved in assessing
and solving these problems as they arise. A group of teens from Lehman
Alternative Community School (LACS) rebuilt the greenhouse in its entirety this
spring!
In the severe
drought conditions and other drastic weather patterns we will continue to
experience as climate change unfolds, access to water is fundamental.
At its core, the Youth Farm is about growing healthy, aware, and empowered kids who will build the equitable, sustainable food communities of the future.
Last year over:
- 50 teens farmed and participated in our summer program
- 1600 ICSD elementary students ate fresh classroom snacks weekly
- 600 students visited our farm for field trips
- 9000 lbs of produce sustainably grown
Teens develop leadership, teamwork, and agency during summer employment. Young kids discover chickens and compost and make salad on school field trips. Our produce finds its way to classrooms, cafeterias, and the plates of families who otherwise face barriers to affordable, dignified use of healthful, community grown and led food sources.
The key is making connections between kids’ hands in the soil, food on their plates, and systems of inequity. These youth will grow to tackle issues of racism, climate change, hunger, and economic justice, all of which are bound up in our food system.