The Produce Project

Winter under cultivation

Is as arable as Spring.

-Emily Dickenson

Working in cooperation with local partners and towards the creation of the Urban Grow Center, Capital District Community Gardens is launching its latest program in September 2009. 

This fall Troy High School students will join with CDCG staff to create The Produce Project, an organic, year-round urban farm business built in the heart of the city. Working on Grow Center land, after school and on weekends, youth will tend their crops from seed to harvest.  They will earn a small stipend and take some of what they grow home to share with their families.  Students will farm using high tunnels—simple, unheated greenhouses—and use other innovative season extension techniques to grow produce throughout the school year.  By selling their crops to local restaurants and at farmers markets, students will learn entrepreneurial skills while earning money that will help sustain the Produce Project. They will learn how to grow fresh vegetables while improving their health and the health of their community.  Trainees will participate in workshops with local farmers, chefs, and entrepreneurs, learning skills crucial to their future success.

Everyone likes to eat fresh, delicious food. 

Though some healthy food is available in the city, for many people fresh, organic and local food is a luxury.  For over thirty years CDCG has developed programs to ensure healthy food is available to all urban residents.  Our 46 community gardens and The Veggie Mobile reach thousands.  The Produce Project complements the work we already do to bring more fresh food to the people and businesses of Troy.   We want everyone to have access to the juiciest tomatoes, the sweetest melons, and tastiest garlic---food that wasn’t grown with chemicals but with hard work and knowledge of natural systems.

Young people are a powerful bunch.

We have seen the energy and enthusiasm of Troy’s youth first-hand. For years, they have been the “heavy lifters” behind CDCG’s street tree program, planting and protecting thousands of trees across the city. The Produce Project gives Troy’s youth to showcase their abilities year-round.

 Our food system could use our help.

New York is losing farmers and farm land with each passing year. This means less fresh food, fewer jobs, less money, and a loss of knowledge in the community. By learning to grow food and becoming successful entrepreneurs local youth can make a real difference in the Capital Region.

Support Capital District Community Gardens’ newest, innovative project to make local, healthy food more available in our communities.

 Click on a link to find out how you can help:

~The Produce Project~
 

 Creates opportunities for youth.  Networking as they make their sales, students have a chance to show potential employers the quality of their work while interacting with customers.  Workshops and trainings provide specific knowledge and experiences that trainees can apply at home, school, and in the workplace.  

 Makes a lasting impact on trainee health.  Instead of watching TV at home, youth work hard in the fresh air and sunshine. They are served healthy snacks while working on the farm and every week they take home a bag of fresh produce to share with their families.  Combining exercise with fresh food and the knowledge of how to prepare it, gives students the means to improve their own health and the health of their families.

Builds urban and rural connections. Produce Project youth are advocates for local food and farmers. They serve as a bridge between farmers, businesses and inner-city neighborhoods, increasing urban access to local foods while  building new markets for local farms.

 Serves the community.  One third of the produce trainees harvest goes to low income residents of the Capital Region.  By partnering with CDCG’s own Veggie Mobile, the Produce Project ensures a portion of the harvest goes towards those who need it the most.

 Offers a powerful solution to existing issues of food security in our region. As a model urban farm, the Produce Project exemplifies creative ways New York State can overcome barriers to local food production through four-season agriculture using vacant, urban land and by improving how local farms and restaurants do business together.  The Produce Project is the first step towards CDCG’s long term goal of building an Urban Grow Center on its 8^th street land in Troy.

 "If people can grow safe, healthy, affordable food, if they have access to land and clean water, this is transformative on every level in a community.  I believe we cannot have healthy communities without a healthy food system."

our vision / community gardens / street tree planting / urban landscaping
squash hunger / urban grow center / veggie mobile / taste good series