Tackle the New Orleans Food Desert With Grow Dat Youth Farm

When fresh, healthy foods on your dinner table is the norm, it can sometimes be easy to forget that many people are not provided this same luxury. Millions of people across the United States live in food deserts, where access to fresh, healthy and affordable food is extremely limited. This leads citizens to suffer from various health issues due to a lifetime of poor eating habits. One of these food desert communities is New Orleans.

Grow Dat Youth Farm addresses this access issue while simultaneously providing the youth of New Orleans an opportunity to find meaningful work. Grow Dat Youth Farm hires the youth of New Orleans to grow fruits and vegetables that feed the surrounding New Orleans community. This is a 20 week job training program that promotes the personal growth of its trainees. While participating in this program, youth employees will develop skills in leadership and communication, learn how to work in teams and set a precedent of community camaraderie and create a culture that values giving back.

Sixty percent of the produce is sold at local farmers markets and to local restaurants. The revenue from sales sustains Grow Dat Youth Farm so that it can offer the remaining forty percent of produce to New Orleanians who have low access to fresh affordable foods.

In the new year, Grow Dat Youth Farm will hire 20 teenagers that will strive to grow 10,000 pounds of food. It has raised enough money from various sources to hire 14 teenagers. The Grow the Green Campaign is raising funds to hire the remaining 6 youth employees. The campaign is off to a great start—with just under a month left, it is steadily working towards the tipping point goal of $4,650. This program will enrich the lives of teenagers in New Orleans while simultaneously transforming it into a healthier community. Help us spread the word with your social media savviness so that Grow Dat Youth Farm can tackle the New Orleans food desert.