A mural stands inside the West Broad Farmer’s Market on 1573 W Broad St. The Young Urban Farmers work at the market to sell food and goods they produce. “Each student that goes through the program will write a business plan on an idea he or she has for a business and in the spring, students have the opportunity to turn that in that idea into an actual business and sell their product here at the farmers market,” YUF program coordinator Seth Nivens said. Photo by Zoe Peterson.
By EMMA CRANE – Staff Writer
By JURNEE LOUDER – Variety Editor
The Young Urban Farmers Program allows students to learn how to make money through farming, as well as other enrichment opportunities.
When walking up the light-colored wooden stairs to the West Broad Farmers Market, one starts to see a bit of the beautiful market and garden that lies ahead. The deeper into the market and garden, the more there is to see; vendors selling goods like oatmeal cookies, clothes and other items. Amidst the other booths, there is a fresh produce stand that is run by high schoolers. These are members of the Young Urban Farmers Program.
The YUF program, founded in 2013 by the Athens Land Trust in cooperated with Clarke County, is an agriculture based program for high school students in CCSD. In the program, students plan their own business model and products that they will create. In the spring, they sell the goods at the West Broad Farmers Market.
“We’ve seen students in the past do things like (create) bird houses or houses for native pollinators,” Young Urban Farmers program coordinator Seth Nivens said. “We had one student last year do tie-dye t-shirts, with the dyes made out of vegetables and fruits.”
The program has provided more than 100 high school students with not only agricultural education, but also job experience. Students are paid $8.00 per hour and work eight to ten hours a week.
“(The program is) putting money in people’s pockets. It engages them,” Nivens said. “Working on a farm is hard work and so if they can do this, they can pretty much do anything.”
Originally, the program was only for students from Classic City High School, but now has evolved to include students from Clarke Central High School and Cedar Shoals High School. CCHS junior John Anderson believes the expansion of YUF will be a good thing. “I think the more people we get out here the more impact we are gonna have on the community, and I think the people that have been here and are here now really enjoy it. Even the community thinks it’s a great thing,” Anderson said.
In addition to farm work, the students also study healthy eating, and take a six-week course on cooking. The course teaches them about meal preparation using fresh produce as well as nutrition.
“It’s just teaching you everyday life,” CCHS senior Dontae Meadows said.
Classic City High School senior Travnika Johnson is also using what she is learning in her daily life.
“I like working outside. My grandma has her little garden in front of her house, and sometimes she wants me to help her. I just thought it would be nice to learn some more about (gardening),” Johnson said.
Nivens agrees that YUF will help students past their school careers, as he has witnessed former members using the skills they have learned to their advantage.
“(We’re) helping students learn about starting and running a business, so if that’s something that they’re interested in, as they get older they have that knowledge,” Nivens said. “(It) really helps students develop job skills, things that’ll benefit them as they enter the workforce.”
Nivens has high hopes for the program to expand in the future.
“I would like to see (YUF) provide students with more avenues to opportunities beyond the program, whether that’s getting a job or getting into college,” Nivens said. “I would like to see it evolve into something more like that, where students have lots of opportunities to choose from after they go through this program.”
The people involved in the program believe that it has changed lives. Meadows has been in the program for three years, and it has given him new experiences which have impacted his future.
“I wanted (being in YUF) to allow me to know how to go out on my own, knowing that I can grow a plant if I got a seed,” Meadows said. “(YUF) definitely showed me a lot of things I can do that I didn’t think I could do.”
