FOOD for Lane County - The Youth Farm

The Youth Farm

Sponsor a Youth Farmer
Become a CSA member
Youth Farm Community Supported Agriculture program (pdf)
2008 Youth Farm Crew application (pdf)

The Youth Farm is currently accepting new CSA memberships for 2008. Click here for payment information.

The Youth Farm is currently accepting applications for the 2008 Youth Farm Crew. Download an application here.

Established in 1998, the Youth Farm is an innovative program combining hunger relief with youth services and education. The three-acre farm provides paying work, job training and education to at-risk teenagers throughout the spring and summer, and serves as an educational work site for local alternative schools and programs serving at-risk youth throughout the year. Additional youth groups from local schools, churches, and agencies volunteer year-round at the farm. The Youth Farm is located on Flamingo Avenue off S. Game Farm Road in Springfield.

The core of the program is the summer Youth Farm Crew. Every year the Gardens hire 12-18 crew members, ages 14-17 years, from low-income backgrounds who have significant barriers to employment. Our youth crew plant, care for and harvest diverse vegetable crops, learning and growing while they work.

The Youth Farm crew members gain training and experience in customer service and small business management by running an on-site farm stand. They also sell produce through a 30-member vegetable subscription or Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Families and individuals subscribe, on a sliding-scale fee based on income, and receive a box of fresh produce each week for 17 weeks. The remaining produce (over half) is distributed to low-income individuals and households through FFLC's network of agencies.