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An update and
invitation… Youth Organics
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by Rana Morris
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Spring is almost here and
like a lot of you, we at Youth Organics are excitedly preparing for the
upcoming garden season. One of the many tasks that come to mind this
time of year is updating our friends at the Co-op on what we’re up to,
what this year holds for us, and to thank you for your support.
First of all we would like to thank the Co-op and all the members who
contributed to this fall’s fund drive. Those paper carrots bought all
our seeds for the year and will pay the stipends for two of our teen
workers this season. Youth Organics (YO!) is run on a tight budget and
every dollar helps, so we really appreciate everyone’s donations!
If you missed the fund drive, there’s another chance to donate and get
a great meal out of it! Our Second Annual Secret Café is on
Saturday, March 21 from 6:30 to 9 pm. The Albany Free School (8 Elm
St.) will once again be transformed into a fancy restaurant for one
night only (and if last year’s café was any indication, the food
will be delicious!) The dinner will cooked by volunteers and the YO!
staff with ingredients donated from local farms. There will be options
for vegans, dairy, and meat eaters. We ask for a $15–40 donation, but
this year we’re inviting Co-op members to take $5 off what they would
pay as a thank you to all the support the Co-op has given to the
program over the years. Please call 495-5055 or email rana@grandarts.org to volunteer
or make reservations.
This summer we are continuing the Garden Share program successfully
started last year. Members purchase their share in the spring, and then
get to come to pick up vegetables from the garden once a week for the
whole season. See the YO! page on the GSCA website for more details and
how to join. We also are hoping to start an entrepreneurial component
to our program in which we hire a youth worker to market and sell some
of our fresh herbs to local restaurants. While both these programs will
bring in money to the program, making us less reliant on grants and
donations, we remain committed to the idea that healthy food is a human
right and will continue providing free produce to the community.
For those who are new to the area or just haven’t heard about us yet,
Youth Organics is a spring and summer gardening program that provides
jobs to city teenagers and works with them to grow healthy produce for
distribution to food pantries (and to the workers' own families). They
learn practical gardening and farming skills, gain access to
information about local and organic foods, learn to cook what they
grow, and have an opportunity to share their individual skills and
interests with each other and peer groups. All this while contributing
to a viable local food system and getting paid! YO! is one of a growing
number of projects of Grand Street Community Arts, a local nonprofit
doing exciting youth, art and community work here in Albany.
Check out Youth Organics and everything else going on with GSCA at www.grandarts.org.
See you at the Secret Café!
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