St. Pete Youth Farm

686
5 min to read

St. Petersburg, USA
About the city. At least 90% of the residents over the age of 25 have obtained a high school diploma, while only 33% of the population have earned a Bachelor’s degree or higher.

Goal

St. Pete Youth Farm was established to provide access to nutritious food in South St. Petersburg, FL., and encourage leadership, entrepreneurship, and career readiness through a youth development program.

Implementation period. The project started in 2019.

Fact

USF’s St. Petersburg Campus won a $25,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to start a greenhouse project in partnership with St. Pete Youth Farm and other local organisations to fight food insecurity within the community by growing fresh produce all year long, right in the South St. Pete CRA.

Solutions

The St. Pete Youth Farm is a welcoming place where young people develop important life skills. This urban farm project encourages creative thinking and personal growth as students learn everything from growing their own food to financial literacy. Through this youth development program, they support the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs. Each week, members of the youth farm meet to learn and practice a number of topics, including planting and harvesting, communication and teamwork, artistic self-expression, resume building and job readiness and mental health and mindfulness.

Participants can learn and practice:

— Planting and harvesting

— Culinary and nutritional skills

— Entrepreneurship and business

— Communication and teamwork

— Leadership

— Character development

— Mental health and mindfulness

— Artistic self-expression

— Explore different career paths

— Resume building and job readiness

Local high school students have the opportunity to learn about innovative food production systems and the mechanisms behind creating their small businesses. Around seventy per cent of the produce grown are sold through a youth-driven social enterprise. The remaining thirty per cent of the product are distributed through the Daystar Life Center, feeding the community’s most vulnerable.

How to apply?

To participate in the program, you need to submit an application on the website. Three options are available: a supervisor aged 18-24, a Youth Ambassador Internship program member aged 14-19, and a volunteer without age restrictions.

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