The Food Project

by John Wang
Yes! Magazine
Spring, 2009

Since 1991, The Food Project has built a national model of engaging young people in personal and social change through sustainable agriculture. Each year, they work with over a hundred teens and thousands of volunteers to farm on 31 acres in rural Lincoln, MA and on several lots in urban Boston. They focus on identifying and transforming a new generation of leaders by placing teens in unusually responsible roles, with deeply meaningful work.

Each season, The Food Project grows nearly a quarter-million pounds of food without chemical pesticides, donating half to local shelters. The remainder of the produce is sold throuh Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) crop “shares” and farmers’ markets. Locally, they also partner with urban gardeners to help them remediate their lead-contaminated soil and grow healthier food...