FARMPRENEURS: EMPOWERING URBAN YOUTH LEADERS TO INCREASE AGRICULTURAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOOD SECURITY IN THEIR COMMUNITIES

?Project Summary:The Farmpreneurs: Empowering student leaders to increase food knowledge and food security in their urban communities project with Montclair Community Farms (MCF) and local partner organizations will expose urban high-school, college, and elementary school students to hands-on farm experiences in their local food system in order to increase food security, nutrition education, and educational and career pathways for underserved youth and their communities. Through this project, high-school and college youth will gain agricultural knowledge, training, and leadership skills in a paid internship program. College students will deliver gardening and nutrition lessons to elementary students from their own communities through 'school-to-farm' field trips. Leveraging cross-sector community partnerships, this project will engage AmeriCorps service members as mentors and educators as well as nine direct community partners aligned in the goal of building healthier communities through food. Funding for this project will support staff, students' support incentives, curriculum and supplies, and program evaluation to facilitate model and outcome sharing to broader audiences.