A Model Program Guide

Going Beyond Emergency Services

This booklet is the fourth installment of
WHY’s Going Beyond Emergency
Services series.

Growing Leaders, Growing Change:

Youth and Urban Agriculture
Going Beyond Urban Agriculture: Roots in Food Insecurity
Emergency Services
Our mission at WHY is to
be a leading advocate for In urban areas, lack of access to affordable, nutritious food is an ongoing problem.
innovative, community- From vanishing grocery stores and cheap fast food, to steady increases in obesity,
based solutions to hunger diabetes, and heart disease, the evidence of food insecurity and a broken food system
and poverty. WHY chal- is all around us. For children who live in our cities, these problems disrupt the stability
lenges society to con-
front these problems by that is so vital to their healthy development into adolescence and adulthood. Luckily,
advancing models that through and beyond these hardships lies a creative solution for youth faced with these
create self-reliance, eco- challenges: urban agriculture.
nomic justice, and equal
access to nutritious and Growing food in cities is not a new concept. In fact, different forms of urban agriculture
affordable food.
have popped up over the past century. During World War II, the United States government
This booklet provides you promoted the planting of “Gardens for Victory.” These Victory Gardens were created by the
with a more in-depth look government to relieve the pressure of feeding civilians and to instead focus on those at war.
at some of our Model Pro- The people at home were empowered by what they had grown; they created and strength-
grams, Harry Chapin Self- ened community relations, and were able to eat fresh food.
Reliance Award Winners,
and United States De-
partment of Agriculture Today’s community gardens and urban farms stem, in part, from the Victory Garden
Community Food Project movement. From the late 1960s to the present day, community gardens have served
Grantees who are taking not only as places to produce food, but often also to unite people for social justice
their programs to the next causes. Community gardens have the capacity to bring together isolated and often-
level by offering innova-
tive urban gardening pro- impoverished and food insecure populations, often in urban areas. According to the
grams for youth. American Community Gardening Association, there were an estimated 18,000 commu-
nity gardens in North America as of 2004. Since then, it is fair to guess that there are
For more information even more, thanks to the rebirth of the green movement, plus the rapidly increasing
on community gardens costs of food nationwide.
(both urban and rural),
visit WHY’s Food Secu-
rity Learning Center at Community gardens have a wide appeal and come in all shapes and sizes, and can be
www.whyhunger.org/fslc. found in rural towns and large cities. Some community gardens have been expanded
into full-blown community revitalization projects, empowering those most affected by
To connect with urban lack of access to fresh food: the working poor, youth, immigrants, and the elderly. Ur-
youth gardening pro-
grams around the coun- ban gardens were created to address issues relevant to many cities: lack of space, lack
try and for information of community, lack of access to fresh food, and great cultural diversity across neighbor-
on program replication, hoods.
contact us via email at
GAN@whyhunger.org. Urban agriculture may be a solution or significant aide to many of the problems low-
income communities face: diabetes, obesity, poverty, and lack of access to affordable,
fresh, and healthy foods. Youth-centered urban agriculture projects promote commu-
nity food security, sustainability, and serve as gateways to employment opportunities
for at-risk youth in a positive, friendly, and productive atmosphere.

The Food Project in Lincoln, MA was among the earliest urban agriculture projects to
focus on youth in their programming. Operating since 1991, The Food Project unites
youth of diverse backgrounds and uses food production and marketing as vehicles for
developing leadership skills. The Food Project connects youth from the suburbs and
inner-city Boston, building relationships amongst youth across race, class, and location.
The Food Project provides internships, fellowships, a summer program, and a Saturday
program that runs during the academic year. The success of The Food Project dem-
onstrates that providing a space for youth in which to build community and learn job
skills yields positive results.

In the time since The Food Project began nearly two decades ago, more urban ag-
riculture programs for youth have begun around the country. Highlighted here are
four model programs around the country, all of which have their own unique twist on
improving the lives of children and promoting food security through urban agriculture.
From Minneapolis to Seattle, from Rochester to Durham, these programs and their par-
ticipants are innovators in the fight against urban degradation, hunger, malnutrition,
and community disengagement.
 Rochester Roots Address
Rochester Roots
121 N. Fitzhugh St.
Rochester, NY 14614
Phone: 585.232.1463
Email: roch.roots@frontiernet.net
Website: www.rochesterroots.org
Contact: Jan McDonald

Mission
Rochester Roots is committed to
the creation of urban, school and
community garden-based edu-
cational programs for youth and
adults. These programs focus on
growing, preparing and enjoying
high quality, safe and affordable,
healthy food.

About
Rochester Roots, Inc. began
in 1975 as the Politics of Food
Rooted in the Community Program, the food and hunger
Rochester Roots’ programmatic work focuses on community food security, urban agri- task force of the Rochester Peace
culture, sustainable agriculture, and community development. These four tenets pro- and Justice Education Center. In
vide a well-rounded approach to bolstering youth development through agriculture. 1991, they became an indepen-
dent not-for-profit with a focus
Rochester Roots has three schoolyard gardens, which total 1-1/2 acres: the Clara Barton on sustainable food systems. In
School PS #2 is a one acre urban farm; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. PS #9 has a courtyard 2005, they formally changed their
garden; Bethany House hosts a 40’ x 120’ market garden located behind School #9; and name to better reflect their urban
The Franklin Montessori School on Norton Street has a greenhouse and a courtyard. roots, urban agriculture program,
All four of these sites are located in food insecure, low-income communities. They also and their new and strong focus
partner with the Horizons Program, a non-profit entity of the Harley School. This pro- on youth. Rochester Roots works
gramming provides 110 Rochester youth with year-round cooking classes and summer in impoverished neighborhoods,
garden activities. 90% of the plants grown in the gardens are heirloom quality. with elementary school students,
teachers and volunteers, to estab-
Paid internships are offered to low-income teenagers in July and August. Parent and lish organic vegetable gardens
child seasonal cooking classes are taught from November to May. They market Petal directly on school grounds.
Power and Green Power skin salves and lip balms, Job’s Tears seed bead jewelry, and
recycled denim paper baskets processed with garden plants. They also offer consultant
services for schools and organizations who want to start organic vegetable gardens.
Rochester Roots’ Community Garden Project motto is: “Growing Youth, Growing
Community, Growing Food,” and it does just that. The Community Garden Project
transforms underutilized schoolyards into thriving urban gardens with the aid of com-
munity partners like teachers, students, parents, and experienced gardeners. The best
part: all of the produce grown at the schools goes back to the students and commu-
nity members in Rochester. Rochester Roots serves over 600 youth and 38 teachers
through their agricultural projects, internships and cooking classes. The teachers use
the gardens as a vehicle of integrated learning.

Youth at the Core

Rochester Roots’ programming is successful because it is so deeply involved with com-
munities where they have gardens. Furthermore, the program works with elementary
school students, teachers and volunteers in impoverished neighborhoods, making
themselves readily available to communities with little access to and education about
healthy food and sustainable practices. By empowering youth to grow the produce for
themselves and for their local farmers’ market, they gain a hands-on approach to learn-
ing marketable skills while participating in their own community.
Address
SEEDS
Seeds
DIG program
706 Gilbert Street
Durham, North Carolina 27701
Phone: 919.683.1197
Email: info@seedsnc.org
Website: www.seedsnc.org
Contact: Kavanah Ramsier

Mission
SEEDS encourages respect for life,
for earth and for each other. We
help individuals, neighborhoods
and communities grow together
through gardening, gathering
and education.

About
South Eastern Efforts Develop-
ing Sustainable Spaces, Inc.
(SEEDS) was founded in Durham,
NC in 1994 by local community
leader Brenda Bodie. A vision-
ary, Bodie sought to change the
conditions of Durham’s neighbor-
hoods through gardening. This
vision took shape when SEEDS
partnered with Phoenix House,
a transitional housing unit for
homeless men. SEEDS’ first com-
munity garden was created there.
Largely through volunteer efforts,
additional gardens have been
planted across Durham, changing
the lives of community members
for the better.
“DIG”-ing Deeper
In 2000, South Eastern Efforts Developing Sustainable Spaces (SEEDS) created its first
youth entrepreneurial program: DIG (Durham Inner-city Gardeners). DIG operates on
a quarter-of-an-acre plot in northeast downtown Durham. Teenagers there are taught
how to grow organic produce, herbs, and flowers in a sustainable manner. Later, youth
sell their products at the Durham Farmers’ Market and are paid a stipend for their work.
Every Saturday, the youth prepare lunch together using as much produce from the
garden as possible, and are given hands-on lessons in food skills, cooking, and proper
nutrition. DIG Coordinator Kavanah Ramsier says, “We use gardening as much as pos-
sible as a tool to talk about the food system, the role that food can play in our quality of
life, and the choices we have.”
That’s not all DIG teens do. Participants also lead workshops for younger children
through SEEDS’ Youth Are What Youth Eat (YAWYE) program. YAWYE is a peer educa-
tion initiative through which young people educate each other about the way foods
are processed and why. DIG youth also discuss their experiences of growing, eating,
and selling organic produce.

Youth at the Core

From turning over the soil straight through to harvest, youth are involved in all as-
pects of DIG. Youth participate in marketing, cooking for themselves, composting, and
beekeeping. Every growing season, five youth participate in the year-round program,
receiving special training and mentorship. They even get the chance to participate in
hiring teens for the next season. As a result of participating in DIG, youths’ outlooks
about food and health have changed markedly. Ramsier gave an example: Many youth
participants enter the program stating that McDonald’s is their favorite restaurant.
After participating in DIG many of these youth have a different perspective on what
qualifies as “good food.” Seasoned youth participants do a thorough job of explain-
ing to newcomers why fast food is not the healthiest or tastiest choice. DIG provides
its youth participants with hands-on learning about healthy food, including how the
ingredients that make up fast food are produced and where they come from, the as-
sociated food labor practices and how all of these practices do not add up to meet the
nutritional needs of our bodies. At DIG, the gardens are used as a tool with which to
cultivate both fresh produce and young minds.
 Youth Farm and Market Project Address
Youth Farm & Market Project
Moving Beyond Access Minneapolis Office:
Youth Farm and Market Project views youth in the community as an untapped re- 128 West 33rd St.
source. YFMP focuses on development of teamwork and leadership skills among its Minneapolis, MN 55408
participants rather than harping on remediation of youths’ “deficits.” To accomplish this West Side Office:
goal, YFMP Project LEAD provides paid internships and summer employment to older 127 W. Winifred
youth (ages 14-18) and encourages participants to apply their skills to the production St. Paul, MN 55107
and distribution of local produce, as well as to take on mentorship roles with younger Phone: 612.872.4226
youth during YFMP’s summer and school-year programs. Fax: 612.871.3761
Email: gunnar@youthfarm.net
YFMP recognizes that challenging youth to engage in food production is only half Website: www.youthfarm.net
the battle to fostering change in their local food system and economy. In St. Paul and
Minneapolis, like in the rest of the U.S. and many other areas of the world, obesity is a Mission
growing problem, one that is hitting immigrant and minority populations the hardest.
Youth Farm and Market Project
Since many of their participants are new or recent immigrants, growing and consum-
provides year-round, youth devel-
ing fresh produce is not just about health and nutrition, but about connecting with,
opment programming for youths
and maintaining, cultural traditions. “There isn’t
ages 9 – 18, utilizing experiential
much available in bulk in the places people are
education and training, urban
shopping that makes sense to them,” says Gun-
agriculture, gardens and green-
nar Liden, YFMP’s Executive Director. YFMP’s
houses. We build youth leader-
Cultural Farming and Nutrition Program strives
ship through planting, growing,
to support new immigrants’ traditional diets
preparing, and selling food. Youth
by taking a two-pronged approach: they grow
Farm and Market Project currently
ingredients that play important roles in various
works in 3 neighborhoods in the
ethnic cuisines and then teach participating
Twin Cities, Lyndale and Powder-
youth how to prepare dishes representing a va-
horn in Minneapolis, and the West
riety of cultures. Vegetables and herbs impor-
Side of St. Paul.
tant to the cuisines of Mexico, several African
countries and Central and South America are About
now available through YFMP’s efforts.
The Youth Farm and Market
With the aid of parents and older community Project (YFMP) runs year-round
members- who act as culinary teachers and hubs of neighborhood social networks- youth education and employment
youth then go on to teach others in their communities about food preparation and programs. Youth work with the
introduce them to vegetables with which they may be unfamiliar. In this way, food program’s 9 garden sites spread
is used as a tool for community building across religious, racial, and ethnic lines. This across 2 acres of urban land,
fosters local empowerment and relationship building between youth, their families prepare food and teach cooking
and their neighbors, a process that YFMP sees as intrinsic to quality youth development skills, promote good nutrition,
programming. and engage in entrepreneurial
activities. YFMP runs one neigh-
Youth at the Core borhood market, a small CSA,
YFMP seeks to identify what the vital elements are to keep their programs going, but and sells some of their produce
they also strive to be flexible in order to encourage active participation and innovation wholesale to local restaurants and
by their youth participants. In recent years, youth have been charged with going out retailers. YFMP recognizes that
into their neighborhoods to find out who lacks food and what kinds of food they need increasing access to, and con-
and want. YFMP is rapidly expanding to increase their influence among younger youth sumption of, fresh healthy food
as well. They now have a small greenhouse at a local public elementary school where in underserved urban neighbor-
one of their program directors teaches. There, they grow starts for all their gardens. hoods in the Twin Cities means
Faculty members at the school are beginning to use the greenhouse as a teaching tool growing produce that is relevant
for science and cultural lessons, and also to encourage students to explore healthier to the variety of international
food options. “More and more, as school budgets become tighter and they cut gym cuisines that make up the cultural
and science, out-of-classroom learning is getting a great response from teachers,” Liden fabric of their U.S. communities.
says. He adds that the greenhouse project has already proved a great recruiting tool for Each year, YFMP and hundreds of
their summer employment program. The St. Paul school district has showed interest in volunteers from the community
having herbs grown for their summer lunch programs, which is leading YFMP’s pro- collaborate to grow, prepare, and
gram directors to consider how to engage with larger institutions. distribute over 11,000 pounds of
fresh produce.
Address Seattle youth Garden Works
Seattle Youth Garden Works
5700 6th Ave. S.
Suite 207
Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: 206.632.0352 x16
Fax: 206.632.0355
Email: info@sygw.org
Website: www.sygw.org

Mission
The mission of Seattle Youth Gar-
den Works (SYGW) is to empower
homeless and underserved youth
through garden-based education
and employment. SYGW began
as a small volunteer landscaping
project to address the needs of
homeless youth in the University
District of Seattle. SYGW is under
the administrative umbrella of the
Church Council of Greater Seattle
and is responsible for its own Growing for the Future
program development and fund- Seattle Youth Garden Works sees agriculture as a means by which to empower youth
raising. We enroll participants and an avenue through which to instill a work ethic, personal responsibility, and coop-
and provide all services without erative skills. Youth are identified and screened through a collaborative process that
regard to our expectation of reli- involves SYGW Americorps volunteers, referrals from case managers, and Interagency
gious participation or affiliation. Seattle schools.

About
SYGW was founded in 1995 by
Margaret Hauptman. Through
her volunteer time at a drop-in
center, she came to recognize the
need to provide employment and
empowerment opportunities for
homeless youth in the University
District of Seattle. She began a
small landscaping project that has
grown into a successful farm-
to-market project that employs
homeless and underserved youth
from neighborhoods in the South
Seattle area. The gardens have
become ground zero for teaching
business and employment skills,
encouraging empowerment, and
science education. SYGW grows
on several plots in Seattle, one
of which is part of the University
of Washington’s Arboretum and
whose lease is “paid” for by SYGW
through service hours. By working
on various non-agricultural con-
servation sites in the Seattle area
during the colder months, SYGW
manages to provide a broader
context for their environmental
ethos and to provide employment
for youth during all four seasons.
Once hired, youth work in 12-week sessions. The beginning of each session includes
setting expectations and reading and discussing the employment contract. “Soft
skills”-- the basic skills and courtesies that young people need to succeed in a work
environment – come first, according to Executive Director Janice Dilworth. Within the
first week, work in the greenhouses and gardens begins. This ranges from starting
seeds to sell as plants at market in the spring to a full farmers market stand in the sum-
mer and fall. Throughout the 12-week session, weekly Education Days provide youth
with formal training in interview skills, preparing cover letters and resumes, customer
service, and “how-tos” for exchanging constructive criticism with their colleagues. As
many SYGW participants are transitory, many youth benefit from basics such as tutori-
als in how to set up an email account and how to store information electronically so
that they can access their work-related documents from libraries, schools, and others’
computers.
SYGW has been seeing an increase in interest in their employment slots with the recent
economic downturn. But even before the faltering economy made common youth jobs
harder to come by, SYGW has been seen as a unique opportunity for youth. The com-
bination of intrapersonal, business, and employment skills are invaluable to making
youth more hirable in the future and helping them to move beyond low-paying hourly
jobs. In addition, math and science are woven into learning to work in the gardens and
broader environmental lessons. And youth benefit physically through increased fruit
and vegetable consumption and the exercise of garden work.
Community members help support SYGW by purchasing garden-grown seedlings and
produce from the market, thus making the youth programs more sustainable than if
they solely relied on grant funding.
 Seattle youth garden works
Youth at the Core
Youth have a major incentive to succeed at SYGW. Though they begin their employ-
ment at minimum wage, they become eligible for shares of the season’s profits after
their first four weeks of work. SYGW supervisors evaluate youths’ performance and
allocate shares accordingly. At the end of the market season, half of the annual profit
is recycled back into the program and the other half is distributed to youth. SYGW is
working towards building more incentives into their programming. Currently, there
are two lead gardener positions within the organizational structure. Those youth who
perform exceptionally are eligible for one of these two year-long internships, which
pay a bit more. By encouraging people in their participants’ support network to come
to program events such as graduation, youth can showcase and celebrate their accom-
plishment of seeing a project from beginning to end with their friends and family.

Empowering a Generation
Programs involving youth training through urban agriculture are popping up rapidly
nationwide, and are increasingly garnering attention for their unique approach to job
training, experiential education, and their ethos of community-building and service.
Grassroots organizations and schools
are using gardening, farming, and
farmers markets as a means to various But even before the faltering
ends: to instill better nutritional values, economy made common
help bring better food into under-
served neighborhoods, and teach
youth jobs harder to come
practical business and entrepreneurial by, SYGW has been seen as a
skills. Each program has its own set of unique opportunity for youth.
priorities and methods, but all share in
having youth at the core of their pro-
gramming. As demonstrated by the programs highlighted in this guide, training young
people with the skills necessary to produce, prepare, and market food has great poten-
tial to nurture a more educated and empowered generation to bring about change in
urban areas most afflicted by economic hardship and lack of access to good food.
 Resources & Links
Organizations and Networks
Rooted in Community: www.rootedincommunity.org
BLAST Youth Initiative: www.thefoodproject.org/blast
WHY (World Hunger Year): www.whyhunger.org
WHY’s Food Security Learning Center: www.whyhunger.org/fslc
Community Food Security Coalition: www.foodsecurity.org
National Farm to School Network: www.farmtoschool.org/
American Community Gardening Association: www.communitygarden.org
Center for Food & Justice: http://departments.oxy.edu/uepi/cfj/
Growing Power: www.growingpower.org
Growing Food and Justice Initiative: www.growingfoodandjustice.org

Funding Opportunities
Harry Chapin Self Reliance Awards: This award distributes cash grants ($7,000 maximum award) to outstanding grassroots
organizations in the United States that have moved beyond charity to creating change in their communities. Organizations
selected as Harry Chapin Self- Reliance Award winners are judged outstanding for their innovative and creative approaches to
fighting domestic hunger and poverty by empowering people and building self-reliance.
www.whyhunger.org/hcsra

Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program: Community Food Projects are designed to increase food security
in communities by bringing the whole food system together to assess strengths, establish linkages, and create systems that
improve the self-reliance of community members over their food needs.
www.csrees.usda.gov
www.whyhunger.org/fslc
Curricula
The Food Project:
Heifer International USA Program: Heifer USA field staff work in www.thefoodproject.org
partnership with communities to plan, design and implement urban
agriculture projects that produce and market food locally. Heifer National Gardening Association:
provides seed funding and ongoing technical assistance to implement www.kidsgardening.org
the project. Rutgers Cooperative Extension:
www.heifer.org gloucester.rcr.rutgers.edu

National Gardening Association: The National Gardening Associa-

tion works with sponsoring companies and organizations to provide in-kind grants to projects that actively engage kids in the
garden and improve the quality of life for their communities.
www.kidsgardening.org/grants.asp

Sustainable Agriculture and Education Program (SARE): SARE is a competitive grants program providing grants to research-
ers, agricultural educators, farmers and ranchers, and students in the United States.
www.sare.org

WHY is convinced that solutions to hunger and poverty can be found at the grassroots level. WHY advances long-term solutions to hunger and poverty by supporting community-based
organizations that empower individuals and build self-reliance, i.e., offering job training, education and after school programs; increasing access to housing and healthcare; providing
microcredit and entrepreneurial opportunities; teaching people to grow their own food; and assisting small farmers. WHY connects these organizations to funders, media and legislators.

WHY, 505 Eighth Avenue, Suite 2100, New York, NY 10018 | Tel. 212.629.8850 | Fax 212.465.9274 | www.whyhunger.org
WHY´s Grassroots Action Network (formerly known as Reinvesting
In America) is made up of thousands of innovative community-
based organizations across the country fighting hunger and
poverty. Join us. grassrootsnetwork@whyhunger.org

GRASSROOTS ACTION NETWORK

c/o WHY, 505 Eighth Avenue, Ste. 2100, New York, NY 10018
(212) 629-8850  fax 212-465-9274
www.whyhunger.org/ programs/grassroots-action-network.html