At first glance, The Food Project can appear to be a different world. Teens from different backgrounds work together. Fresh vegetables are planted, tended and harvested by hand. A farm produces vegetables from the rooftop of a city hospital. Digging a little deeper, though, we find some more familiar scenes. Volunteers help prepare a meal at a homeless shelter. City residents stop by a farmers market for fresh groceries. Farmers drive a tractor through the fields. The Food Project is all of this, and much, much more.

Fixing Our Food System

One hundred teenagers come to The Food Project each summer, most for their first job. They leave with much more than a paycheck. Each has spent 25 days working on farms in the city and suburbs and devoted 30 hours to direct service in hunger relief organizations. In the process, unlikely friendships blossom and unexpected leaders emerge. In addition to our own youth programs, The Food Project enlists the help of volunteer groups from kindergartners to college freshmen to corporate leaders. What is it that brings out all of this energy? Food. Our farms feed the body and nourish the soul.

Over 3,000 volunteers visit our farms each year, and we tell them each the same thing: At The Food Project we believe that our food system is broken. Too many people are going hungry and food is traveling too far. That’s a big statement, and there’s a lot to be done to fix the situation. The key, though, is that every little step counts. And the first step is to start asking questions. So, dig in! We want to challenge you to learn a little more about your food system and help us create change.

Where is my food from?

Local food is often fresher and more flavorful. People and businesses who use and sell locally produced foods are helping to support the local economy and reduce environmental impacts. Roughly 10 percent of the cost of a head of lettuce at the supermarket makes it into the farmer’s pocket. The rest goes to marketing, transportation, distributors, etc. At a farmers market, nearly 100 percent goes to the farmer.

How was this food grown? Is it sustainable?

It’s a lot easier to ask this question if you’re getting it straight from the source. Find out if you approve of the way your food is being produced. Also think about the people producing it. Are they earning a fair wage and working in healthy conditions?

Can I grown my own food?

Absolutely! It’s easier than you think. Visit The Food Project for a complete growing guide and instructions for building a raised bed garden. Of course, the most powerful voices of change that we have here at The Food Project are those of our youth.

Here’s what Eva MacDonald, a 15-year-old youth participant from Boston, Massachusetts, had to say about The Food Project:

“Everything we do here at The Food Project makes me think. Not only think, but really question my thoughts and open my eyes even more. Just for me to know that every little task I complete during fieldwork on the farm could determine whether people get their food.… It placed an incredible amount of weight on my shoulders and at first it made me a bit intimidated. I still am intimidated but I know how to do the work and I know that everything I do is contributing to the greater picture of the farm and of people’s health. I feel really good about myself knowing that I am making a large impact in many people’s lives.”