The Food Literacy Project
Youth Cultivating Change: Youth Community Agriculture Program
The Youth Community Agriculture Program (YCAP) positions young people (ages 15-21) to take active roles in advancing food justice, health, and equity while deepening their connection to fresh foods and the land, engaging in meaningful work, and earning much-needed income. Youth are hired as part of the Youth Community Agriculture Program and work throughout the year at our farm growing food, creating and sharing recipes, hosting and breaking bread with community members, helping to lead and implement after school clubs for elementary students, conducting a research project and connecting with other urban farmers, community leaders and other youth engaged in similar work. The youth crew members who are hired to work on the farm are often neighbors to the growing space.
Funding from Louisville Sustainability Council will help the Food Literacy Project to guarantee equitable pay for youth employees this fall that honors their valuable contributions and recognizes the impact of increased short term financial independence as well as the financial responsibilities they hold in preparing for their future. A $2,500 grant would support a portion of wages for the entire fall season for two YCAP crew members. We would be honored and grateful to again partner with the Louisville Sustainability Council to support our YCAP program again this year.
The youth-grown produce is leveraged to increase access to fresh vegetables in West, South, and South-West Louisville through partnerships with community ministries that host food pantries, farmers market, Jefferson County Public Schools that host The Food Literacy Project’s after -school Field-to-Fork club for 3rd-5th graders, and a weekly no-cost pop-up table to share the bounty with neighbors to the farm. The majority of these food distribution methods are at no cost to the individuals receiving the fresh produce, otherwise the produce is sold using a sliding-scale/pay-what-you-can model.
