Cultivating Teens

The little boy stopped in his tracks and stared at the magnificent array ruby red apples, emerald green peppers and golden kernelled corn in a pile before him. “Are they real he asked,” not quite believing his eyes.  He had never seen such a site!

This anecdote, as shared by Jamie McKnight of Teens4Good, is not an unusual one and the boy in it is not unique.  He is but one of many urban youth to whom fresh fruits and vegetables are as rare and precious as gemstones.

By way of cultivating gardens in Philadelphia Teens4Good is taking the rarity out of fresh produce by introducing youth to their food from the ground up.  McKnight and her team of dedicated professionals and volunteers are making food accessible and teaching values of self-sufficiency, money management and entrepreneurialism.

Founded in 2005 with help from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Teens4Good is a program of the Federation of Neighborhood Centers.  The program works to transform vacant lots into thriving farms that increase access to fresh, healthy foods.  There are currently five Teens4Good gardens in Philadelphia, two of which are run by part-time farmers.

The teens who work with Teens4Good range in age from 14-18 years old.  They apply for internship positions and if accepted, work during the summer months for a stipend that is based on experience and age. Once in the program, teens have opportunities to assert themselves as site leaders and to receive recognition during special events and trips that take them out of the garden and into the world.

When they begin the program, many of the teens believe food comes from the grocery or corner store.  They have never sown a seed or reaped a harvest. It is also likely that they’ve never had a job or been asked to participate in a democratic workplace where every voice counts. But when given the opportunity, they will not only learn how to balance the delicate ecosystem of an urban garden by working side by side with agricultural professionals and students from world-class universities, they will learn how to cultivate ideas and operate a business.

As it is in most other neighborhoods where urban gardens spring up, vandalism of plants at the Teens4Good sites has thus far been a non-issue.  (The sheds housing the tools, however, are secured like Fort Knox.) Also typical of neighborhoods where gardens spring up, the rear of the tunnel at 8^th & Poplar has been hit with graffiti.  Each time its broad side receives a fresh coat of uniform color, it’s re-tagged.  Perhaps hoping to capitalize on the community role of the farm, Aviva Asher, the site farmer, has asked the stealth artists to reveal themselves, not for prosecution, but to be commissioned to paint something related to the garden.

As important as the farming techniques are the fundamentals of business that are being learned.  What is grown in the gardens is washed, inventoried and sold at local markets.  Produce is also sold to restaurants and grocery stores like Honey’s Sit & Eat, Bar Ferdinand, Milk & Honey, and Shop Rite. By keeping a journal the teens learn how weather, disease, and other field conditions impact a harvest and how these, in turn, dictate sales and profit. 

Those who’ve outgrown Teens4Good have gone on to study culinary arts in Italy, earned degrees in agriculture and entered the workforce as nurses, chefs, and marketing professionals.  They are self-assured people who understand the importance of making good, healthy decisions and who recognize the value of green spaces and community development.  Perhaps most importantly, they understand that like a carefully planted seed, they too can thrive.

Despite their best efforts, the farmers and kids at Teens4Good have yet to grow a money tree.  By volunteering or considering a partnership, you can help McKnight expand the programs to incorporate a broader segment of the population in year-round events.