Our expectations are very high for our Dirt Crews. We keep them high so that our youth can step into a culture that both demands their best efforts and that also encourages them to learn from their mistakes. The Food Initiative is not just about growing food. We're equiping our youth with critical life skills that will accompany them for the rest of their lives.

Leadership

By asking our youth to shoulder higher and higher levels of responsibility, our interns quickly develop the perspective and insight needed to solve problems and to bring the garden and its various operations to success. Our youth are responsible for growing and serving the food, for leading volunteer groups, for developing shared standards, for holding each other accountable, and for taking ownership for their successes as well as their failures, both individually, and as a a team.

Public Speaking

Speaking in front of your peers can be a high-risk exercise for anyone, no less a youth. From the first day or our program, our youth are prompted to share in a way that builds courage, trust, and personal reflection. Throughout the course of the internship, our interns also present to the community and to our sponsors. In 2009, our youth had a private presentation with our mayor after which they were invited to speak publicly at our regular city council meeting. 

Entrepreneurship

During the summer program, we teach two workshops on money management and a third workshop on how to run a small business. These lesson are immediately applied as our youth set up and manage a modest farmers market once a week. For 2010, our goal is to expand our revenue-generating operations to include value-added products such as salsa and pesto.

Culinary Arts

At The Food Initiative, our Crews learn how to cook healthy meals. During the summer, Thursdays are Community Days. On Community Days, while half of our youth are busy setting up at our hunger relief organizations, the other half are preparing casseroles and other meals. These are then delivered and served by the youth at the same HROs. Our youth not only learn how to cook, they learn how to eat healthy while also enjoying the social interaction that comes from gathering around a common purpose.