By Katrin Dougherty, Program Director, Supa Fresh Youth Farm
Supa Fresh Farm started as a secret garden. My co-worker, Mia Barlett, and I found a patch of ground near a neighborhood school in Tigard. We thought, “Wouldn’t it be great to start a garden with kids to teach them how to work in an environment where it was safe to fail? A place where teens could boost their confidence and learn valuable work and life skills at the same time?
That was 2009
What started as four raised beds has flourished – literally and figuratively. It’s now a learning space that includes three additional 1/4-acre farms. We provide fresh food for free to about 250 nearby low-income families each month. And on April 21, we will participate in our eighth Comcast Cares Day, welcoming 250 Comcast employees along with their friends and families who will again help us achieve our mission.
We train kids for life beyond high school. Each year, about 50 youth participate in our program. They range in age from 15 to 24, all experiencing different challenges in their lives that make achieving their employment or educational goals more difficult.
While going to school, our students earn money working at the farm and learning about agriculture. We teach them about crop rotation, soil management and sustainable farming practices (we don’t use any pesticides). With that come lessons about food sourcing, healthy eating, and cooking nutritious meals on a budget. The kids then sell the produce they planted at farmers’ markets and through our Community Supported Agriculture program. They work as teams, learn how to be good employees, and master the basics of running a business. We’re very proud of our increased graduation rates and job retention rates. Most students stay with employers for at least a year after participating in our program.
Shelly’s story is a great example: Shelly originally came to program because she and her family were homeless. The internship at the farm was her first job, her first time commuting to work alone on the bus, her first time learning to cook and her first time earning her own paycheck. Today, she is helping her own family pay bills
Our success is thanks in part to supporters like Comcast and its wonderful community volunteers. During Comcast Cares Day last year, 200 volunteers showed up to help us plant 60 beds at Metzger Community Park, a dual-purpose school/park. This allowed us to jumpstart our spring planting project. But the most rewarding aspect of that day was seeing our teen leaders in action. ’ll never forget watching Kessley, a shy 17-year-old girl directing her crew of Comcast volunteers. It was so amazing to see her take charge and become comfortable as a leader. Our students need to learn hard work, yes, but they also need the opportunity to lead.
This year, we’re excited to host another group of Comcast volunteers to continue the project at Metzger. In this phase, our youth have been working with the city parks department on the approval and design of a “placemaking” area of the park that the community can access. Placemaking is an approach to planning that connects people to spaces to promote health and wellness in a community. This student-designed area will provide additional shade, and more food – we already have a food pantry on site – and will have an edible landscape. This Comcast Cares Day will be the first day our youth install what they’ve designed.
Thanks to Comcast, we’ll be able to continue to create a safe, healthy space for people in our community to come together.
