The 2010 for Urban Roots season began with the recruitment of second-year leaders who had previously been through the program. We hired six youth to return and serve as Assistant Crew Leaders and Agricultural Interns. These six leaders underwent extensive public speaking training and team-building activities in the fall and assisted with the interview and hiring process for the new first-year interns. Sixty young people from all around central Texas applied for the 24 first-year intern openings for 2010. Ultimately, Urban Roots hired a diverse crew of 12 girls and 12 boys from seven schools.
The new crew of 30 met on Saturday, February 13th for training, orientation, and team-building activities. Their first day on the farm was the following Saturday. This year's Farm Interns worked on the Urban Roots farm which expanded from just over one acre to 3 1/2 acres in production. Farm Interns learned about sustainable agriculture, hunger, and food systems. In addition to farming, Interns toured local farms and other local food businesses, led hands-on volunteer days at the farm, and participated in a variety of educational activities, including public speaking classes, nutritional workshops, cooking classes, and life skills workshops. A sampling of the workshops includes: Canning; Meals on Wheels Nutrition Workshop; Insects; Art Workshop; Compost; Yoga; Student Farm Workers' Alliance; and Financial Literacy Skills.
Early in the program year, everyone participated in an unplanned and unscripted team-building activity that pushed everyone, Farm Interns and staff alike. In forty-degree weather and consistent rain, we worked together to drag wet row cover the length of each bed, to protect all the plants on the farm from the impending freeze. The work was hard, and at times many of the Farm Interns wanted to just give up all together. They were by encouraged reminding one another that if they gave up now, all of the diligent work that led up to that point would be destroyed. Covered in mud, and extremely cold, the Farm Interns left that day of work with a great sense of accomplishment. This challenging day ultimately served as a uniting memory to reflect on during other hard times in the season. The Farm Interns felt that if they could make it through that day, they could make it through anything.
Urban Roots set an ambitious production goal for 2010, based on previous results and on the expansion of land in production. And while production did increase from 2009, for a variety of reasons (weather, bugs, and other production concerns), our production was less than projected. The Farm Interns planted, cultivated and harvested almost 24,000 pounds of fresh produce (lettuce, okra, tomatoes, beans, kohlrabi, melons, kale, cilantro, peppers, carrots, spinach, eggplant, squash, beets, and many others). Approximately 6,800 pounds were donated to hunger relief efforts in Central Texas. Meals on Wheels and More received 2,300 pounds of produce from the farm; reaching nearly 1,000 of their clients in their H.O.P.E. program, congregate meal program, and meal delivery program.
As a means of exploring hunger and hunger relief in Austin, Farm Interns engaged in 25 service projects at local hunger relief organizations. Youth prepared meals at Spring Terrace, sorted donations at the Capital Area Food Bank, and served clients at Caritas. These activities were some of the most profound, moving experiences for our youth, as they were able to see how the hard work they were doing had tangible, direct effects. The Interns could see their work go from "seed to plate."
Our new CAFE (Community Assessment for Food Equality), a participatory assessment, and included focus groups, surveys, and outreach efforts, was another way for Farm Interns to explore the complexity of the food system. This assessment will guide our programmatic decisions in the coming years as to how to distribute local produce to East Austin residents who currently have poor access to it.
"Their produce has been a wonderful addition to our food pantry as we are rarely able to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to our clients." --Manos de Cristo newsletter, May 2010
"The most impactful service was at Caritas when the people there would stop and get our attention to make sure we knew our work was appreciated." --Daysy, Farm Intern 2010
In addition to donating to several hunger relief partners, produce was regularly given to Farm Interns to share with their families at home. The rest of the harverst was sold at two Austin Farmer's Markets, a WIC Market in East Austin targeted at low-income residents who have limited access to fresh, affordable produce and through Urban Roots' first 33-member CSA, with members receiving a fresh bag of produce each week for seventeen weeks.
To expose Farm Interns to another side of the world of food, and to give the youth some ideas for what to prepare with all the veggies they were taking home, Urban Roots held four community lunches. On Community Lunch Days, local chefs worked with a group of Farm Interns to plan, prepare and serve lunch to the community. The meals, incorporating the produce from the farm, included opportunities for the Interns to practice their public speaking skills and interact with community members over a meal they prepared. This year, chefs from La Condessa, Snap Kitchen, Aquarelle, and Jack Allen's Kitchen helped the Interns serve 160 people at the four lunches.
The third annual Summer Farm Festival was held in June, hosting over 100 people to the farm, where they learned about Urban Roots, healthy lifestyles, and sustainable agriculture. Farm Interns led tours and workshops, and staffed information and game tables.
"I learned that vegetables are the real 'happy meal'" --KIPP 10th grader, after an Urban Roots field trip
Throughout the year, Farm Interns led field trips of student groups to the farm. In June, a group from Badger Dog (a non-profit that provides writing workshops for young people) visited the farm and wrote poems about their experiences.
Beautiful Fields
I feel the smooth grass
I taste the sweet tomatoes
I see the tomatoes growing before me
I hear the crunch, crack, click of a bug
I taste the sweet tomatoes
I see the flutter of excitement
I hear the crunch, crack, click of a bug
I see the flies flying away
Joshua, 3rd grade
In 2010, thirty young people, who served as first- and second-year Farm Interns, produced, planted, cultivated, harvested, donated and served (6,800 pounds) provided 13,600 meals for people in need in Central Texas. The approximately 16,800 pounds of food that was sold in farmers markets and through our CSA touched thousands of additional people throughout Central Texas. The transformative experiences of the youth involved in the program will make them life-long advocates for sustainable agriculture and healthy eating. Their experiences serving the community has taught them not only that they can make a difference, but also that they should.
"Urban Roots helps me a lot in different ways. I remember the first time I went to Caritas. I was new in America, but that was the first community service I had been to. When we started cooking and serving, I started thinking about those people who are here looking for food. I feel like I am helping a lot and I was so proud of myself. This program was the best. My life changed and I am a leader now." --Fille, Urban Roots Second Year Farm Intern 2010
Our second year recruiting and hiring process started out with a big difference from the first year:
we had the help of our Assistant Crew Leaders (ACL), three stellar first-year farm interns who
continued with Urban Roots as peer leaders. At the interviews, the ACLs' presence made the youth
who were interviewing more at ease and they took the lead in talking about what to expect as a farm
intern. We then hired 15 Farm Interns, who-along with our ACLs - would become the heart and soul of
our program for the next year.
Our first few weeks on the farm with youth were a time of discovery: Farm Interns learned how much
hard work is required to grow the food we eat. They saw their first cucumber beetles and learned
how to tell a beneficial insect from a pest. Together, they learned to plant, harvest, and
cultivate vegetables that some of them had never even eaten: beets, carrots, collard greens,
squash, leeks, and more. As spring progressed into summer, they were faced with many challenges.
The heat set in early, and even though we only spend half the day doing agricultural work, everyone
had to learn how to pace themselves and take water breaks so that we could keep working. Once the
summer started, we also started the program one hour earlier at 8:00, which meant many of the youth
had to wake up earlier than they had for school!
We also challenged our interns to look outside their own lives and to see how much they could help
others in need. During the summer program, youth volunteered at the Capital Area Food Bank and
Caritas, and sold produce at low-income WIC markets. They also volunteered with Meals on Wheels and
served a meal at Spring Terrace housing community. As one intern said,
Before I went to Caritas I expected to see homeless people and people who had a home but were in
need to food. What I did see was well-mannered people who were grateful and said we were a
blessing. At Caritas I realized how lucky I am and that helping others in need or less fortunate is
doing my part in keeping the world up, instead of tearing it down.
-Farm Intern, 2009
Many of the Farm Interns had never worked in the soil before or worked as close to nature as they
did on the farm. Through various workshops they learned about compost, beneficial insects, how to
create an attractive display at the farmer's market, and about the benefits of farming organically.
Additionally Farm Interns grew by leaps and bounds as they learned how to speak in public and led
volunteers on Community Volunteer Days. They gained confidence and poise with each new opportunity,
and amazed even themselves at their newfound skills: "I never new I could speak in front of other
people before," said one young intern.
Two of the biggest opportunities for our Farm Interns to display their speaking skills were at our
Community Lunches and at Summer Farm Fest. Our three Community Lunches were a smashing hit this year!
Chefs from local restaurants Z-Tejas, Zoot, and La Condesa took youth into their kitchens and taught
them how to cook by preparing a meal with fresh produce from the Urban Roots farm. They then brought
the meal back to the farm, where a group of guests from the community were waiting. On the stage,
under the shade of a grove of oak trees, we shared a meal while the young chefs described each dish
and spoke about their experience working on the farm.
Summer Farm Fest was another big day! On June 27, we opened the farm to all and participants enjoyed
farm tours, tomato tasting, compost demonstrations, rotten tomato tossing, and Pico de Gallo making
demonstrations. Visitors also played games, bought produce at the farm stand, and voted for "Veggie
of the Year", among other things. In the Veggie Vote, Tomato pulled ahead to win and brought saucy
back. The Okra Races were a close match, but in the end our racing ACL, who went under the name
"Itchy-Fingers," surged ahead of our own program coordinator Max Elliott, aka "Okramanos."
Itchy-Fingers will certainly go down in Urban Roots history!
Our year ended with a more intimate gathering, where families of the youth came to the farm for a
potluck feast and celebration of the year. Interns put on skits to show what they had learned and
shared their accomplishments with the guests. For the 2009 program year, Urban Roots Farm Interns
grew 21,347 pounds of fresh produce. Out of this, 8,710 pounds were donated to hunger relief
organizations, such as Caritas, Meals on Wheels, and the Capital Area Food Bank. Well done, y'all!
This place where we grow is so small but yet it's too big. We plant, weed, and harvest. This
seems so hard but your hands get used to it. We sweat and complain about the pain, but when you
know how far the food goes, you feel great and want to keep doing what you did.
-Farm Intern, 2009
Urban Roots 2009
Urban Roots Farm Interns cooking a meal for Spring Terrace residents 3/28/09
Urban Roots' First Year Story
We started recruiting young people for the program in January, and had nearly 50 applications for the
15 initial Farm Intern positions. Through group and individual interviews, we narrowed the field
down to 15 remarkable young people from all over Austin, but concentrated on East Austin.
The spring session started with an all-day retreat on February 9th, where the young people met, bonded,
and learned about the expectations for the year. Starting mid-February, the Farm Interns spent Tuesdays
and Thursdays after-school and Saturdays all day at the farm, learning about organic farming, sustainability
and healthy living.
For the 2008 program year, we secured one acre of land in East Austin on the Hands of the Earth Farm.
This land is one mile from Johnston High School and is accessible to our participants and the public.
When the young people harvested the produce for the first time (two garbage bags of Spinach to be donated
to Caritas - a local hunger-relief organization), one Intern called the others to gather around, and said
"Guys, we grew this!"
Since then, the Interns planted and harvested collard greens, lettuce, cilantro, carrots, beets, cabbage,
turnips, onions and potatoes. They have participated in Farmers' Markets across Austin, and their produce
has been sold to Wheatsville Co-op, Casa De Luz Restaurant, Greenling Organic Delivery Company, and the
Hands of the Earth Farm CSA. Their produce has also been donated to Meals on Wheels, Casa Marianella,
Manos de Cristo, Spring Terrace transitional living facility, and Caritas. On April 19th, a group of Farm
Interns prepared a meal at Spring Terrace for the residents. Over 80% of the ingredients used in preparation
were harvested from the farm. One resident was so moved by these young people and the program that he
donated a painting he had created to YouthLaunch.
The Farm Interns sold 10,650 pounds of produce to Farmers' Markets, CSA's and restaurants, and donated an
additional 7,200 pounds of produce. We had set a goal of donating 40% and selling 60%, and were right
on the mark.
The Interns participated in many workshops, including public speaking, running a market, and cooking.
They learned about organic farming and sustainability, and bonded as a group as they learned life
skills and served their community.
In April, the Farm Interns donated 340 heads of lettuce to Meals on Wheels. They packaged the heads
in recycled plastic bags. The recipients received both fresh produce as well as this poem from
Breez, a Farm Intern from Garza High School:
This lettuce was grown by
Urban Roots
From the seed to the plate,
Urban Roots grew what you ate.
What you see is what you eat,
Grown by just 15 kids, using their hands and their feet.
Pictures from 2008, our first year
On the Farm
At the Market
Volunteers
Community Lunch
Urban Roots Summer Farm Fest, Saturday, June 28, 2008
The Summer Farm Fest featured fun, games and fresh produce grown and harveste by our Farm Interns.
Participants partook in Tomato Tasting, the Great Pepper Challenge, and Name That Seed (the game
that's sweeping the nation). The Urban Roots Interns led farm tours and education stations.
And visitors stopped by our special festival farm stand and took home fresh,
organically grown tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, and other seasonal vegetables.
Urban Roots Awards
2009:
Urban Roots received the "2009 Local Hero Award" from Edible Communities.
2010:
Urban Roots selected to be a finalist for the Texas Environmental Excellence Award.
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Our second year recruiting and hiring process started out with a big difference from the first year:
we had the help of our Assistant Crew Leaders (ACL), three stellar first-year farm interns who
continued with Urban Roots as peer leaders. At the interviews, the ACLs' presence made the youth
who were interviewing more at ease and they took the lead in talking about what to expect as a farm
intern. We then hired 15 Farm Interns, who-along with our ACLs - would become the heart and soul of
our program for the next year.
Our first few weeks on the farm with youth were a time of discovery: Farm Interns learned how much
hard work is required to grow the food we eat. They saw their first cucumber beetles and learned
how to tell a beneficial insect from a pest. Together, they learned to plant, harvest, and
cultivate vegetables that some of them had never even eaten: beets, carrots, collard greens,
squash, leeks, and more. As spring progressed into summer, they were faced with many challenges.
The heat set in early, and even though we only spend half the day doing agricultural work, everyone
had to learn how to pace themselves and take water breaks so that we could keep working. Once the
summer started, we also started the program one hour earlier at 8:00, which meant many of the youth
had to wake up earlier than they had for school!
We also challenged our interns to look outside their own lives and to see how much they could help
others in need. During the summer program, youth volunteered at the Capital Area Food Bank and
Caritas, and sold produce at low-income WIC markets. They also volunteered with Meals on Wheels and
served a meal at Spring Terrace housing community. As one intern said,
Before I went to Caritas I expected to see homeless people and people who had a home but were in
need to food. What I did see was well-mannered people who were grateful and said we were a
blessing. At Caritas I realized how lucky I am and that helping others in need or less fortunate is
doing my part in keeping the world up, instead of tearing it down.
-Farm Intern, 2009
Many of the Farm Interns had never worked in the soil before or worked as close to nature as they
did on the farm. Through various workshops they learned about compost, beneficial insects, how to
create an attractive display at the farmer's market, and about the benefits of farming organically.
Additionally Farm Interns grew by leaps and bounds as they learned how to speak in public and led
volunteers on Community Volunteer Days. They gained confidence and poise with each new opportunity,
and amazed even themselves at their newfound skills: "I never new I could speak in front of other
people before," said one young intern.
Two of the biggest opportunities for our Farm Interns to display their speaking skills were at our
Community Lunches and at Summer Farm Fest. Our three Community Lunches were a smashing hit this year!
Chefs from local restaurants Z-Tejas, Zoot, and La Condesa took youth into their kitchens and taught
them how to cook by preparing a meal with fresh produce from the Urban Roots farm. They then brought
the meal back to the farm, where a group of guests from the community were waiting. On the stage,
under the shade of a grove of oak trees, we shared a meal while the young chefs described each dish
and spoke about their experience working on the farm.
Summer Farm Fest was another big day! On June 27, we opened the farm to all and participants enjoyed
farm tours, tomato tasting, compost demonstrations, rotten tomato tossing, and Pico de Gallo making
demonstrations. Visitors also played games, bought produce at the farm stand, and voted for "Veggie
of the Year", among other things. In the Veggie Vote, Tomato pulled ahead to win and brought saucy
back. The Okra Races were a close match, but in the end our racing ACL, who went under the name
"Itchy-Fingers," surged ahead of our own program coordinator Max Elliott, aka "Okramanos."
Itchy-Fingers will certainly go down in Urban Roots history!
Our year ended with a more intimate gathering, where families of the youth came to the farm for a
potluck feast and celebration of the year. Interns put on skits to show what they had learned and
shared their accomplishments with the guests. For the 2009 program year, Urban Roots Farm Interns
grew 21,347 pounds of fresh produce. Out of this, 8,710 pounds were donated to hunger relief
organizations, such as Caritas, Meals on Wheels, and the Capital Area Food Bank. Well done, y'all!
This place where we grow is so small but yet it's too big. We plant, weed, and harvest. This
seems so hard but your hands get used to it. We sweat and complain about the pain, but when you
know how far the food goes, you feel great and want to keep doing what you did.
-Farm Intern, 2009
Urban Roots 2009
Urban Roots Farm Interns cooking a meal for Spring Terrace residents 3/28/09
Urban Roots' First Year Story
We started recruiting young people for the program in January, and had nearly 50 applications for the
15 initial Farm Intern positions. Through group and individual interviews, we narrowed the field
down to 15 remarkable young people from all over Austin, but concentrated on East Austin.
The spring session started with an all-day retreat on February 9th, where the young people met, bonded,
and learned about the expectations for the year. Starting mid-February, the Farm Interns spent Tuesdays
and Thursdays after-school and Saturdays all day at the farm, learning about organic farming, sustainability
and healthy living.
For the 2008 program year, we secured one acre of land in East Austin on the Hands of the Earth Farm.
This land is one mile from Johnston High School and is accessible to our participants and the public.
When the young people harvested the produce for the first time (two garbage bags of Spinach to be donated
to Caritas - a local hunger-relief organization), one Intern called the others to gather around, and said
"Guys, we grew this!"
Since then, the Interns planted and harvested collard greens, lettuce, cilantro, carrots, beets, cabbage,
turnips, onions and potatoes. They have participated in Farmers' Markets across Austin, and their produce
has been sold to Wheatsville Co-op, Casa De Luz Restaurant, Greenling Organic Delivery Company, and the
Hands of the Earth Farm CSA. Their produce has also been donated to Meals on Wheels, Casa Marianella,
Manos de Cristo, Spring Terrace transitional living facility, and Caritas. On April 19th, a group of Farm
Interns prepared a meal at Spring Terrace for the residents. Over 80% of the ingredients used in preparation
were harvested from the farm. One resident was so moved by these young people and the program that he
donated a painting he had created to YouthLaunch.
The Farm Interns sold 10,650 pounds of produce to Farmers' Markets, CSA's and restaurants, and donated an
additional 7,200 pounds of produce. We had set a goal of donating 40% and selling 60%, and were right
on the mark.
The Interns participated in many workshops, including public speaking, running a market, and cooking.
They learned about organic farming and sustainability, and bonded as a group as they learned life
skills and served their community.
In April, the Farm Interns donated 340 heads of lettuce to Meals on Wheels. They packaged the heads
in recycled plastic bags. The recipients received both fresh produce as well as this poem from
Breez, a Farm Intern from Garza High School:
This lettuce was grown by
Urban Roots
From the seed to the plate,
Urban Roots grew what you ate.
What you see is what you eat,
Grown by just 15 kids, using their hands and their feet.
Pictures from 2008, our first year
On the Farm
At the Market
Volunteers
Community Lunch
Urban Roots Summer Farm Fest, Saturday, June 28, 2008
The Summer Farm Fest featured fun, games and fresh produce grown and harveste by our Farm Interns.
Participants partook in Tomato Tasting, the Great Pepper Challenge, and Name That Seed (the game
that's sweeping the nation). The Urban Roots Interns led farm tours and education stations.
And visitors stopped by our special festival farm stand and took home fresh,
organically grown tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, and other seasonal vegetables.
Urban Roots Awards
2009:
Urban Roots received the "2009 Local Hero Award" from Edible Communities.
2010:
Urban Roots selected to be a finalist for the Texas Environmental Excellence Award.
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Our second year recruiting and hiring process started out with a big difference from the first year:
we had the help of our Assistant Crew Leaders (ACL), three stellar first-year farm interns who
continued with Urban Roots as peer leaders. At the interviews, the ACLs' presence made the youth
who were interviewing more at ease and they took the lead in talking about what to expect as a farm
intern. We then hired 15 Farm Interns, who-along with our ACLs - would become the heart and soul of
our program for the next year.
Our first few weeks on the farm with youth were a time of discovery: Farm Interns learned how much
hard work is required to grow the food we eat. They saw their first cucumber beetles and learned
how to tell a beneficial insect from a pest. Together, they learned to plant, harvest, and
cultivate vegetables that some of them had never even eaten: beets, carrots, collard greens,
squash, leeks, and more. As spring progressed into summer, they were faced with many challenges.
The heat set in early, and even though we only spend half the day doing agricultural work, everyone
had to learn how to pace themselves and take water breaks so that we could keep working. Once the
summer started, we also started the program one hour earlier at 8:00, which meant many of the youth
had to wake up earlier than they had for school!
We also challenged our interns to look outside their own lives and to see how much they could help
others in need. During the summer program, youth volunteered at the Capital Area Food Bank and
Caritas, and sold produce at low-income WIC markets. They also volunteered with Meals on Wheels and
served a meal at Spring Terrace housing community. As one intern said,
Before I went to Caritas I expected to see homeless people and people who had a home but were in
need to food. What I did see was well-mannered people who were grateful and said we were a
blessing. At Caritas I realized how lucky I am and that helping others in need or less fortunate is
doing my part in keeping the world up, instead of tearing it down.
-Farm Intern, 2009
Many of the Farm Interns had never worked in the soil before or worked as close to nature as they
did on the farm. Through various workshops they learned about compost, beneficial insects, how to
create an attractive display at the farmer's market, and about the benefits of farming organically.
Additionally Farm Interns grew by leaps and bounds as they learned how to speak in public and led
volunteers on Community Volunteer Days. They gained confidence and poise with each new opportunity,
and amazed even themselves at their newfound skills: "I never new I could speak in front of other
people before," said one young intern.
Two of the biggest opportunities for our Farm Interns to display their speaking skills were at our
Community Lunches and at Summer Farm Fest. Our three Community Lunches were a smashing hit this year!
Chefs from local restaurants Z-Tejas, Zoot, and La Condesa took youth into their kitchens and taught
them how to cook by preparing a meal with fresh produce from the Urban Roots farm. They then brought
the meal back to the farm, where a group of guests from the community were waiting. On the stage,
under the shade of a grove of oak trees, we shared a meal while the young chefs described each dish
and spoke about their experience working on the farm.
Summer Farm Fest was another big day! On June 27, we opened the farm to all and participants enjoyed
farm tours, tomato tasting, compost demonstrations, rotten tomato tossing, and Pico de Gallo making
demonstrations. Visitors also played games, bought produce at the farm stand, and voted for "Veggie
of the Year", among other things. In the Veggie Vote, Tomato pulled ahead to win and brought saucy
back. The Okra Races were a close match, but in the end our racing ACL, who went under the name
"Itchy-Fingers," surged ahead of our own program coordinator Max Elliott, aka "Okramanos."
Itchy-Fingers will certainly go down in Urban Roots history!
Our year ended with a more intimate gathering, where families of the youth came to the farm for a
potluck feast and celebration of the year. Interns put on skits to show what they had learned and
shared their accomplishments with the guests. For the 2009 program year, Urban Roots Farm Interns
grew 21,347 pounds of fresh produce. Out of this, 8,710 pounds were donated to hunger relief
organizations, such as Caritas, Meals on Wheels, and the Capital Area Food Bank. Well done, y'all!
This place where we grow is so small but yet it's too big. We plant, weed, and harvest. This
seems so hard but your hands get used to it. We sweat and complain about the pain, but when you
know how far the food goes, you feel great and want to keep doing what you did.
-Farm Intern, 2009
Our first few weeks on the farm with youth were a time of discovery: Farm Interns learned how much hard work is required to grow the food we eat. They saw their first cucumber beetles and learned how to tell a beneficial insect from a pest. Together, they learned to plant, harvest, and cultivate vegetables that some of them had never even eaten: beets, carrots, collard greens, squash, leeks, and more. As spring progressed into summer, they were faced with many challenges. The heat set in early, and even though we only spend half the day doing agricultural work, everyone had to learn how to pace themselves and take water breaks so that we could keep working. Once the summer started, we also started the program one hour earlier at 8:00, which meant many of the youth had to wake up earlier than they had for school!
We also challenged our interns to look outside their own lives and to see how much they could help others in need. During the summer program, youth volunteered at the Capital Area Food Bank and Caritas, and sold produce at low-income WIC markets. They also volunteered with Meals on Wheels and served a meal at Spring Terrace housing community. As one intern said,
Before I went to Caritas I expected to see homeless people and people who had a home but were in need to food. What I did see was well-mannered people who were grateful and said we were a blessing. At Caritas I realized how lucky I am and that helping others in need or less fortunate is doing my part in keeping the world up, instead of tearing it down.
-Farm Intern, 2009
Many of the Farm Interns had never worked in the soil before or worked as close to nature as they did on the farm. Through various workshops they learned about compost, beneficial insects, how to create an attractive display at the farmer's market, and about the benefits of farming organically. Additionally Farm Interns grew by leaps and bounds as they learned how to speak in public and led volunteers on Community Volunteer Days. They gained confidence and poise with each new opportunity, and amazed even themselves at their newfound skills: "I never new I could speak in front of other people before," said one young intern.
Two of the biggest opportunities for our Farm Interns to display their speaking skills were at our Community Lunches and at Summer Farm Fest. Our three Community Lunches were a smashing hit this year! Chefs from local restaurants Z-Tejas, Zoot, and La Condesa took youth into their kitchens and taught them how to cook by preparing a meal with fresh produce from the Urban Roots farm. They then brought the meal back to the farm, where a group of guests from the community were waiting. On the stage, under the shade of a grove of oak trees, we shared a meal while the young chefs described each dish and spoke about their experience working on the farm.
Summer Farm Fest was another big day! On June 27, we opened the farm to all and participants enjoyed farm tours, tomato tasting, compost demonstrations, rotten tomato tossing, and Pico de Gallo making demonstrations. Visitors also played games, bought produce at the farm stand, and voted for "Veggie of the Year", among other things. In the Veggie Vote, Tomato pulled ahead to win and brought saucy back. The Okra Races were a close match, but in the end our racing ACL, who went under the name "Itchy-Fingers," surged ahead of our own program coordinator Max Elliott, aka "Okramanos." Itchy-Fingers will certainly go down in Urban Roots history!
Our year ended with a more intimate gathering, where families of the youth came to the farm for a potluck feast and celebration of the year. Interns put on skits to show what they had learned and shared their accomplishments with the guests. For the 2009 program year, Urban Roots Farm Interns grew 21,347 pounds of fresh produce. Out of this, 8,710 pounds were donated to hunger relief organizations, such as Caritas, Meals on Wheels, and the Capital Area Food Bank. Well done, y'all!
This place where we grow is so small but yet it's too big. We plant, weed, and harvest. This seems so hard but your hands get used to it. We sweat and complain about the pain, but when you know how far the food goes, you feel great and want to keep doing what you did.
-Farm Intern, 2009
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Urban Roots' First Year Story
The spring session started with an all-day retreat on February 9th, where the young people met, bonded, and learned about the expectations for the year. Starting mid-February, the Farm Interns spent Tuesdays and Thursdays after-school and Saturdays all day at the farm, learning about organic farming, sustainability and healthy living.
For the 2008 program year, we secured one acre of land in East Austin on the Hands of the Earth Farm. This land is one mile from Johnston High School and is accessible to our participants and the public.
When the young people harvested the produce for the first time (two garbage bags of Spinach to be donated to Caritas - a local hunger-relief organization), one Intern called the others to gather around, and said "Guys, we grew this!"
Since then, the Interns planted and harvested collard greens, lettuce, cilantro, carrots, beets, cabbage, turnips, onions and potatoes. They have participated in Farmers' Markets across Austin, and their produce has been sold to Wheatsville Co-op, Casa De Luz Restaurant, Greenling Organic Delivery Company, and the Hands of the Earth Farm CSA. Their produce has also been donated to Meals on Wheels, Casa Marianella, Manos de Cristo, Spring Terrace transitional living facility, and Caritas. On April 19th, a group of Farm Interns prepared a meal at Spring Terrace for the residents. Over 80% of the ingredients used in preparation were harvested from the farm. One resident was so moved by these young people and the program that he donated a painting he had created to YouthLaunch.
The Farm Interns sold 10,650 pounds of produce to Farmers' Markets, CSA's and restaurants, and donated an additional 7,200 pounds of produce. We had set a goal of donating 40% and selling 60%, and were right on the mark.
The Interns participated in many workshops, including public speaking, running a market, and cooking. They learned about organic farming and sustainability, and bonded as a group as they learned life skills and served their community.
In April, the Farm Interns donated 340 heads of lettuce to Meals on Wheels. They packaged the heads in recycled plastic bags. The recipients received both fresh produce as well as this poem from Breez, a Farm Intern from Garza High School:
This lettuce was grown by
Urban Roots
From the seed to the plate,
Urban Roots grew what you ate.
What you see is what you eat,
Grown by just 15 kids, using their hands and their feet.
Urban Roots Summer Farm Fest, Saturday, June 28, 2008
The Summer Farm Fest featured fun, games and fresh produce grown and harveste by our Farm Interns.
Participants partook in Tomato Tasting, the Great Pepper Challenge, and Name That Seed (the game
that's sweeping the nation). The Urban Roots Interns led farm tours and education stations.
And visitors stopped by our special festival farm stand and took home fresh,
organically grown tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, and other seasonal vegetables.
2009:
Urban Roots received the "2009 Local Hero Award" from Edible Communities.
2010:
Urban Roots selected to be a finalist for the Texas Environmental Excellence Award.
Urban Roots Awards
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