Those who are fortunate enough can easily stop by their local grocery store and purchase food. Unfortunately for a number of socio-economic reasons, there are places across the country, both urban and rural, where access to quality food is sorely lacking. The term associated with this lack of accessible food is food desert. The Food Project has a model of engaging young people in personal and social change through sustainable agriculture. Each year, they work with 120 teenagersand many volunteers to farm on 70 acres in eastern Massachusetts.
They pride themselves on their focus on identifying and transforming a new generation of leaders by placing teens in increasingly responsible roles, with deeply meaningful work.
Food from the farms is distributed through community supported agriculture programs and farmers’ markets, and donated to local hunger relief organizations. The teens participate in all of these distribution streams, giving them valuable job experiences and a personal connection to the food system and issues of food justice.
The Food Project relies on donations and volunteers, so please consider digging into your wallet or even better, dig into the dirt at one of the many farms in eastern Massachusetts.
Connect with Mother Earth
As a volunteer at the Food Project, you can reconnect with your food's origins. Current trends of eating out and buying prepared foods can rob you of the deep connection to food that is an integral part of quality nourishment.