The Teens for Food Justice Initiative
Building a new generation of food justice activists and leaders — inspired and equipped to work together to create an equitable, sustainable approach to food.
Empowering Teens
Through our unique Teens for Food Justice model, volunteers work together to build and manage hydroponic farms that grow food for families in underserved, food desert communities. They also get the training, skills and confidence to help others improve their nutrition, fitness, and wellness and empower those at greatest risk to advocate for their own health. Volunteers learn and serve together in a hands-on entrepreneurial environment, gaining the collaborative, critical-thinking skills needed by tomorrow’s leaders and developing an ongoing commitment to lasting social change.
Feeding Communities
Teens for Food Justice was launched in September 2013 at New Beginnings Charter School in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. At New Beginnings, a team of teen volunteers from schools and neighborhoods throughout our city (with the help of partner organization NY Sun Works) have come together to build and maintain a classroom hydroponic farm that is a source of fresh produce, a living environmental science lab for the school’s K-7 students, and a health and nutrition hub for families.
The teens are also trained to lead nutrition and fitness workshops and help teach healthy cooking and eating and affordable shopping skills to children and adults. The volunteers spend a year together as health and sustainability ambassadors in the communities they serve, empowering those at-risk to take charge of their own health and learning to be leaders for positive social change.
Click on http://www.studentsforservice.org/ to learn more
