About the Youth Farm Project
The Youth Farm Project has been a collaboration of strength and diversity from its inception. Three Swallows Farm, the Full Plate Farm Collective CSA, the Lehman Alternative Community School (LACS), and the Southside Community Center all put there heads together to create a job experience for youth ages 14-18 that exemplifies what it means to work together, learn leadership and communication skills, and of course, learn to grow food organically for our Ithaca community.
A core part of our program is bringing youth together from diverse social and economic backgrounds and studying the discrepancies within the existing food system. We create opportunities for youth to grow as individuals by giving them responsibility in all aspects of farm work, from planting seeds to selling the produce at Market Stands that they manage themselves. We strongly believe that giving youth the opportunity for connection to real work and connection to their community has contributed to the strength of our program. We work hard together in the hot sun, we learn to cook what we grow, we eat together, we share our harvest with those that need it. We are currently entering our 3rd year of growing as the YFP on 5 acres in Danby. The food we grow goes to: the Full Plate Farm Collective CSA (we grow their u-pick garden), BJM Elementary School's Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program, GIAC, the Ithaca City School District Lunch Program, the LACS lunch program, the Congo Square Market (Friday evenings in the summer, Southside Community Center), and the Ithaca Farmer's Market (Thursday evenings in the summer, Dewitt Park).
Our Mission:
The Youth Farming Project’s mission is to include our local youth from diverse social and economic backgrounds as integral participants in building equitable local food communities. And accordingly we work to:
-Involve local youth in growing, harvesting, donating, selling, eating and preserving healthy food.
-Connect youth to local and global issues concerning food justice and the environmental impact of our current food systems.
-Share inspiring responses to these issues which involve youth from around the world.
-Teach organic growing methods and their role in sustainable farming.
-Provide a place where youth from diverse backgrounds have the opportunity to come together and learn about each other and learn to work as a group toward a common goal.
-Help youth understand the relationship between the foods that we choose to eat and our personal health.
-Offer youth an opportunity to create something of real worth for themselves, their families, and community.
Through participation in the Youth Farm Project we hope to inspire and empower young people to be proud of themselves, their communities and their role in them. We grow, harvest, eat, sell, donate and preserve food for the community, focusing on youth and family programs, ie., schools. We relate to the land as a place of infinite learning and nourishment, and care for it as such. We see ourselves as connected to everything and evaluate our choices through that lens. We support the growth of the individuals involved, through feedback, critical thinking and team building.
A core part of our program is bringing youth together from diverse social and economic backgrounds and studying the discrepancies within the existing food system. We create opportunities for youth to grow as individuals by giving them responsibility in all aspects of farm work, from planting seeds to selling the produce at Market Stands that they manage themselves. We strongly believe that giving youth the opportunity for connection to real work and connection to their community has contributed to the strength of our program. We work hard together in the hot sun, we learn to cook what we grow, we eat together, we share our harvest with those that need it. We are currently entering our 3rd year of growing as the YFP on 5 acres in Danby. The food we grow goes to: the Full Plate Farm Collective CSA (we grow their u-pick garden), BJM Elementary School's Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program, GIAC, the Ithaca City School District Lunch Program, the LACS lunch program, the Congo Square Market (Friday evenings in the summer, Southside Community Center), and the Ithaca Farmer's Market (Thursday evenings in the summer, Dewitt Park).
Our Mission:
The Youth Farming Project’s mission is to include our local youth from diverse social and economic backgrounds as integral participants in building equitable local food communities. And accordingly we work to:
-Involve local youth in growing, harvesting, donating, selling, eating and preserving healthy food.
-Connect youth to local and global issues concerning food justice and the environmental impact of our current food systems.
-Share inspiring responses to these issues which involve youth from around the world.
-Teach organic growing methods and their role in sustainable farming.
-Provide a place where youth from diverse backgrounds have the opportunity to come together and learn about each other and learn to work as a group toward a common goal.
-Help youth understand the relationship between the foods that we choose to eat and our personal health.
-Offer youth an opportunity to create something of real worth for themselves, their families, and community.
Through participation in the Youth Farm Project we hope to inspire and empower young people to be proud of themselves, their communities and their role in them. We grow, harvest, eat, sell, donate and preserve food for the community, focusing on youth and family programs, ie., schools. We relate to the land as a place of infinite learning and nourishment, and care for it as such. We see ourselves as connected to everything and evaluate our choices through that lens. We support the growth of the individuals involved, through feedback, critical thinking and team building.
