Youth-run garden provides 10,000 pounds of produce to families in San Diego

Through the Second Chance Youth Garden, San Diego County youth provide food to their communities through a farm stand and CSA model. Pictures of Diego Lynch

Xavier, 15, knows that the anger inside him will never go away. "I can never get rid of it," he said.

“I always wanted to fight for no reason; I just had an anger problem, I got mad quickly with people,” added Xavier, a ninth grader from San Diego County. "I have high expectations of myself."

Xavier struggles to keep his emotions in check and has found a sense of calm through his voluntary work. He served as an intern — then peer supervisor — at the youth-run garden of Second Chance, a San Diego-based organization that works to break cycles of poverty and incarceration by providing housing and job training. for adults and young people.< /p>

The Youth Garden was started in 2012 by Second Chance, an organization that works to break the cycles of poverty and incarceration by providing housing and job training.

Running their garden like a small farming business, the young people in the program, aged 14 to 21, offer produce to the community through their farm stand and a CSA model. the community).

"The project incorporates a 'farm to fork' approach in which young people learn not only how to grow food, but how to cook and eat healthily," said Gail Feenstra, director of the research and development program. Sustainable Agriculture Education from the University of California. , which has a grants program that funds research and education projects – such as the Youth Garden – supporting sustainable food systems.

“Second Chance works primarily with young people from communities of color, providing them with training and also helping them to develop their self-confidence,” Feenstra said.

Meeting a critical need for fresh produce

Caelli Wright, program manager for the Second Chance Youth Garden, said grant funds from SAREP – a program of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources – were used to purchase supplies needed to support the program. The garden met a critical need for produce during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Located near Encanto Elementary School, the youth-run garden provided 10,000 pounds of produce to Encanto families who needed help during the pandemic.

"After the pandemic hit, we recognized the increased need for fresh food in our neighborhoods," Wright said. "That need was already there - Southeast San Diego is considered a 'food swamp' or 'food apartheid,' if you will - and with the onset of COVID, that need has only increased. with unemployment and the complications of our food production systems.”< /p>

Through a partnership with UC San Diego Community Health Center and Encanto Elementary School (located one block from the garden), donations have enabled the program to give its CSA actions to approximately 25 Encanto families. During the pandemic, the youth grew 10,000 pounds of produce to donate.

At the same time, the program helps young participants grow. For Xavier, being outside with peers has allowed him to develop positive relationships. Previously, as a student in a charter school program, he was not used to interacting with people and groups. Volunteering in the Youth Garden has given her a new perspective and understanding of others.

"Learning to be patient with people and [to] sometimes accept that if I don't know something, I have to ask about it, because I was so in my ego that I thought I knew everything", Xavier explained . “But I don't know everything – I've just learned to accept certain things… it's part of life. And that's something the garden has helped me with, personally. »

Opportunities for personal and social growth

Young people grow up...