Teens Learn Urban, Suburban Farming With The Food Project

WENHAM, MA – On July 3, a six-and-a-half-week summer job began for 72 incredible teenagers at The Food Project. These young people – all between the ages of 14 and 17 – began a journey of farming, learning, and self-discovery that they won't forget. While these teens could have chosen to fill their summer with more relaxing activities like days at the beach or other, less intense, jobs, these young people will be engaged in the difficult work of farming, learning about sustainable food systems, personal development, serving at hunger relief organizations, and much more.

Each summer, The Food Project hires teens from diverse cultural, racial, economic, and geographic backgrounds to work on their urban and suburban farms in Lincoln, Boston, Beverly, Wenham, and Lynn on their Seed Crew. During the season, youth work together to grow vegetables and distribute 200,000 pounds of produce through CSA farm shares, hunger relief organizations, SNAP-accessible farmers markets, corner stores, and other food access partnerships while developing important leadership, teamwork, diversity, and civic participation skills.

"Seed Crew is so much more than a great 'summer job,'" said J. Harrison, The Food Project’s Executive Director. "A summer working in Seed Crew combines learning about sustainable agriculture and how race and inequality impact the food system. Young people thrive in the diverse atmosphere on the farms and grow as people after a summer with The Food Project."

After working on the farm each morning, Seed Crew youth spend most afternoons in workshops that address issues such as sustainable agriculture, food access, social justice, and more. They also spend one day a week at hunger relief organizations preparing and serving the produce that they have grown. This connects the work the young people are doing on the farms with the lessons that they’re learning about food security. In this way, they are able to see how their work directly impacts people’s lives.

Seed Crew is the entry point to participate in The Food Project’s youth crews. Following Seed Crew, young people may apply to work each academic season throughout their high school careers.

Seed Crew is more than a summer job. It is a transformational experience for the young people who spend their summer with The Food Project. In the 26 years since The Food Project was founded, over 1,700 young people have gone through their youth crews. The teens who participate in Seed Crew, Dirt Crew, and Root Crew become agents of change in their communities around food and social justice. Many have gone on to start organizations based on The Food Project’s model in other parts of the country, started their own urban or suburban farms built on sustainable agricultural practices, or have founded businesses that are committed to social justice.

Please join The Food Project in welcoming these young food justice leaders to the best summer job of their lives.

Image via The Food Project