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| Youth Farm Stand Teens with Sponsors at Caulders Dairy Farm |
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This program is for youth ages 11-16. Participants learn nutrition, cooking, and harvesting skills. Another major goal, entrepreneurship, is achieved through for-sale markets and food giveaways to food stamp eligible recipients. To volunteer to help sponsor this program, please contact us. |
From the 2006 Youth FarmStand Annual ReportCoordinator: DeJuan Johnson "Thank you sir, have a great day!" I bet you can't say that 814 times fast. Well the Youth Farm Stand Gang did over the course of last summer, giving away food to that many people. Hard work and determination is what got this group through; hot and sticky, cold and wet, and any other condition that you can think of. "It just makes me feel good knowing that I am giving people food (fresh vegetables) who really need it." says Jordan, one of the YFS members. Since starting this program, we have come a long way. From thinking that produce just appeared in the grocery store, to actually sowing, growing, harvesting, transporting and distributing the food. All members of the program reside on the southeast side of Detroit, where finding alternatives to junk food is tough. There are just a few grocery stores within walking distance of their neighborhoods. The youth realize this, and actually want to do something about it, and since they understand the seriousness of the situation, that makes them all the more dedicated. If there is any left over produce from the market, they take them home to share with their families and neighbors. |
The youth also traveled to different farmers markets to get a sense of how the "big boys" do it. It was a new experience for most of them, for they had never been to a "real" market before. They checked out the prices that vendors were selling at, we talked about the location of certain vendors and how that might effect sales. Throughout the spring and summer a lot happened with the program. Most of it planned, the most generous one being when we went to Eastern Market and found a farmer to provide us with a little food each week to help us with our food give-away. This provided our program with a great opportunity to reach our goals. YFS 2006 Statistics 15 food and nutrition sessions; 16 giveaway markets, serving 821 people; 9 for sale markets; 1600+ pounds of food distributed; 2 food demonstrations. Field trips to the Eastern Market, Caulders Dairy Farm, and Kettenun Retreat Center.
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| Contact Us: 313-921-2667,
fax: 313-921-1585 or E mail your message: Click
Here Iroquois WISE Coalition, 2411 Iroquois, Detroit, MI 48214, email: wiseadmin@iroquoiswise.org Coordinator: DeJuan Johnson |
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