Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience during this project period were refugee, immigrant, and asylee (collectively: "New American") youth. Early in 2024, the International Rescue Committee in Salt Lake City (IRC SLC) conducted outreach with current IRC New Roots (NR) Community Garden and Farm Business Training program participants, IRC SLC newly arrived refugee families, and participants in various partner organizations to recruit youth for the third year of the Youth Agriculture Livestock and Leadership (YALL) project to engage high school aged new American youth in learning and skills development related to agriculture, food justice, leadership, and community engagement. IRC SLC enrolled 17 high school aged youth in the project in early 2024 for the Spring cohort, with 11 youth participating for the full 2024 program through fall 2024. The cohort engaged primarily female students with 13 of the students identifying as female, while 4 were male. These students were from countries of origin such as Tanzania, Palestine, Syria, Myanmar, Thailand, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Somalia, and Venezuela. As a large component of this project is to help youth engage in their local food system, in this project period, the youth also engaged 2600 local community members at the farmers market and food pantry, the vast majority being refugee, immigrant, asylee, and low-income individuals and families. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?New Roots SLC staff have engaged in various professional development opportunities during this project period. In late 2023, New Roots SLC staff were able to attend a 3-day conference of all 13 IRC New Roots programs across the country for collaboration, discussion, and learning. In addition, the NR SLC youth staff were able to grow their supervision skills by first reading a supervision best practices book and then taking on the supervision of the youth peer leaders for a 7-month period. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? During this project period, conducted outreach with current NR SLC Community Garden and Farm Business Training program participants, IRC SLC newly arrived refugee families, and participants in various partner organizations to recruit youth. NR SLC has seen a large amount of interest from the refugee community in this program, especially for parents who come from agriculture backgrounds and want to have a safe place for their kids to spend their time on the weekend and in the summer. In addition, the program has seen a high amount of interest from student applicants for the experience provided, the connection and collaboration elements, as a resume builder, and to earn a small amount of income for their participation. In addition, NR SLC facilitates many corporate and community volunteer groups at their farms and gardens and a component of each group is to provide an overview of the NR SLC programming, including the YALL program to those in the community. Finally, a webpage detailing the YALL program has been created on the NR SLC website allowing for further dissemination of the program and its activities. Webpage for youth program: https://newrootsslc.org/youth-program Webpage for youth CSA sign up: https://newrootsslc.org/yall-youth-grown-csa What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?New Roots SLC staff completed the 2024 cohort in mid-October and administered surveys measuring reasons for participation, changes in food access, health and wellbeing outcomes, and psychosocial support networks to obtain program results and feedback. The survey responses will be analyzed and used to improve the program in year 4 of the project. Recruitment for the youth program will begin in January, with outreach to community partners such as Catholic Community Services and the Asian Association of Utah, presentations about the program to newly arrived refugee families during IRC SLC's cultural orientation, and outreach within New Roots gardening and farming families. New Roots SLC will also use the winter months to further discuss potential program changes to best utilize the experiences and learnings from the past 3 years of the project with the goal of bringing the YALL program to a place where it is efficient and integrated into the rest of the NR SLC programming to be able to continue similar youth programming once this project has completed. This will likely include planning programming to further integrate the youth into broader New Roots programming including facilitating mentoring and learning with other NR SLC farmers, and support on projects at other New Roots farm and garden sites; providing individual plots rather than collective land to each youth enrolled in the program to increase their sense of ownership and ability to practice learned skills; and streamlining the staff time and activities dedicated to the project to create a more efficient program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In 2024, IRC SLC's NR program engaged 17 youth participants, with 11 completing the full 7-month cohort. Over the year, NR staff delivered 21 weeks of agriculture-focused programming, spanning the spring, summer, and fall seasons. In the initial project proposal, NR SLC envisioned separate cohorts of students engaged in each season of programming, spring, summer, and fall. However, in year 1 of the project, NR SLC discovered that the students in the first cohort wanted to continue on to the summer and fall sections of programming. In year 2 and 3, NR SLC continued facilitating the program with the same cohort of students together for all 3 seasons. Because of this, it is likely that NR SLC will not quite meet the target enrollment numbers originally indicated in the proposal. However, NR SLC feels that the benefits of engaging a smaller number of youth for a longer period of time have created unexpected benefits such as better collaboration and group cohesion, greater understanding of an agricultural timeline through the season, and understanding of markets and how they change seasonally. GOAL 1: Outcome 1.1: 17 YALL youth cultivated 16 100ft plots at the NR Redwood Farm, contributing to increased food access for food-insecure populations in Salt Lake County by selling produce at Sunnyvale and Redwood Farmers Markets (SFM & RFM) and facilitating a CSA with 20 members for 8 weeks. The youth also contributed by loading and distributing dry staple goods at the SFM food pantry, and supporting NR SLC staff in transferring SNAP, Utah Double Up Food Bucks, Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program Vouchers, and Local Food Purchase Agreement funds to SFM and RFM customers to allow them to use those benefits at the markets. Outcome 1.2: 11 youth facilitated 21 SFMs and RFMs, distributing $50,000 in free dollars to spend on fresh produce to 348 families through punch cards redeemable at the markets. They also distributed local, halal beef at the food pantry, expanding access to culturally preferred foods. Outcome 1.3: At the end of the 2024 cohort, NR YALL staff conducted surveys on program effectiveness and lasting impacts, including healthy eating practices. Healthy eating practices were evaluated using questions such as quality of food changes, and improvements to health. From this feedback, NR SLC staff saw that all 8 of youth present for the program feedback survey felt that they are eating healthier due to the program. Outcome 1.4 & 2.2: 12 families of youth participants experienced impacts of youth earning supplemental income through stipends for participation. Over the 2024 cohort, youth collectively earned $7,560 in stipends. In addition, during late spring, summer and fall 17 participants harvested and took home produce after YALL meetings. Finally, youth sold produce at SFM, RFM, and their youth CSA, for total earnings of $4,779 that supported their stipend amounts and additional program supplies. GOAL 2: Outcome 2.1: During the 2024 YALL program, participants worked on their collective farm plots at least weekly, and more often during the summer months when they met 4 days per week. 17 youth gained skills in food production, goat husbandry, healthy eating skills, and sustainable food systems. These included soil prep, planting, irrigation, weeding, trellising, harvesting, washing, packing, storage, and food safety. Youth participated in a field trip to Roots Charter High, a local youth high school that focuses on farming and goat husbandry, to learn about and work with goats and tour their farm. Youth engaged in healthy cooking activities, were provided healthy snacks during the cohort, discussed how to prepare vegetables grown on their plots, especially unfamiliar ones, and participated in healthy eating group discussions. Finally, youth were able to directly engage with their local food system through supporting community members to access culturally preferred food at the SFM, RFM, and providing CSA shares to members. Outcome 2.2: In 2024, 17 youth practiced leadership and job-readiness skills such as time management, collaboration, task efficiency, and problem-solving to improve their knowledge of US workplace norms. Youth took on increased responsibilities at SFM and RFM, managing tasks like food pantry distribution, benefits booth operations, and market setup/teardown. They maintained consistent roles throughout the season to build ownership and improve performance. Youth also harvested, washed, and packed CSA boxes weekly for 8 weeks, enhancing collaborative skills and efficiency. NR SLC provided a supportive environment for practicing punctuality, communication, requesting time off, and arranging transportation. Workshops covered essential job-readiness skills, including self-care, goal-setting, conflict resolution, and giving constructive feedback. Youth also attended financial literacy sessions on bank accounts, credit, and savings and a business basics workshop. After piloting a youth leader in 2023, NR SLC successfully engaged 2 peer leaders in 2024. These leaders, aged 18+, joined weekly planning meetings and led activities and groups for YALL participants. GOAL 3: Outcome 3.1: 17 New American youth who participated in the YALL cohorts learned leadership, communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills and developed confidence through lessons and experiential learning. Youth grew their leadership skills, including identifying their strengths and growth areas, increasing self-awareness through lessons and activities on mindfulness practices, and understanding?identity. The continuity of the same students participating in the 3 seasonal cohorts in 2024 allowed youth to develop and foster a shared sense of community within the program and improve their social-emotional competencies over the extended time. Similar to 2023, the youth took on a larger leadership role in managing SFM and RFM through operating and selling food at their own market stand, and independently running the food pantry and benefits booths. These responsibilities helped youth build skills in customer service, collaboration, and communication, which were practiced throughout the market including interacting with customers, handling financial transactions and organizing and distributing food pantry items to the community, over time increasing their confidence in themselves to be able to handle their responsibilities as the market became busier. Outcome 3.2: YALL youth engaged in local food systems issues within the?community and gained context through field visits to other local farms, supporting with the food pantry, and participation at NR farmers markets. 11 youth practiced educating others on sustainable food systems during field trips to Roots Charter High that involved peer-to-peer exchange and through volunteer days with community members at the Redwood Farm. Outcome 3.3: 10 YALL participants provided education and engaged 2,600 community members in local, sustainable food systems at the SFM and RFM to improve their knowledge of and ability to access culturally preferred food, as well as the benefits available to improve food security in Salt Lake City. Youth volunteered at the market's benefits booth, providing education on utilization of produce incentive match programs and SNAP redemption at the market, and volunteered at the market's food pantry.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience during this project period were refugee, immigrant, and asylee (collectively: "New American") youth. Early in 2023, the International Rescue Committee in Salt Lake City (IRC SLC) conducted outreach with current IRC New Roots (NR) Community Garden program participants, Refugee Youth Interns, and participants in various partner organizations to recruit youth for the second year of the Youth Agriculture Livestock and Leadership (YALL) project to engage high school aged new American youth in learning and skills development related to agriculture, food justice, leadership, and community engagement. IRC SLC enrolled 21 high school aged youth in the project in early 2023 for the Spring cohort. The cohort participants included youth who had participated in the Refugee 4-H Goat Club in previous years, as well as youth whose parents or family members participate in New Roots SLC's farmer training program or community garden program. Twelve of the initial students continued their participation through the end of the Fall 2023 cohort, and many plan to return for the third year of programming starting in March 2024. Educational efforts including curriculum focused on food justice, agricultural production, food systems and food justice, and leadership development, were geared towards new American youth audiences served through the project. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?New Roots SLC staff have engaged in various professional development opportunities during this project period. New Roots SLC staff engaged in facilitative leadership trainings to improve upon facilitation skills, be able to think and guide a group in the moment, and gain additional tools and exercises for group cohesion. NR Staff also engaged in social emotional adolescent development training to learn more about the growth and development timelines of youth and types of guidance and structure each age group needs. In addition, staff engaged in plain language and visual literacy training to improve staff's ability to speak in clear, simple English and present workshops and visuals in easy-to-understand formats. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During this project period, New Roots SLC continued to build upon the partnership with Roots Charter High School farm program staff to provide opportunities for resource sharing, collaboration, and youth peer-to-peer teaching. Throughout the second year of the project, New Roots staff also built on existing or newly developing partnerships with local farms, food justice, or environmental organizations, such as Backyard Urban Gardens Farm (Bug Farm), The Utah Food Bank, Green Urban Lunchbox (GULB), and the Jordan Nature Center to integrate youth field trips and guest lessons into YALL programming. New Roots SLC staff assembled these YALL partners throughout the summer, including through regular communication on YALL activities and progress, and bi-weekly partner meetings, and disseminated information around project outcomes and results during these meetings. New Roots SLC also regularly integrated feedback sessions with YALL youth. New Roots SLC staff intend to discuss project results within the program and conduct additional outreach for future participation with YALL youth participants, their friends, and family members and partner organizations with youth connections such as Catholic Community Services (CCS) and the Columbus Center (a local community center) in the coming months.?? What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?New Roots SLC staff completed 2023 cohort in mid-October and administered surveys measuring reasons for participation, changes in food access, health and wellbeing outcomes, and psychosocial support networks to obtain program results and feedback. The survey responses will be analyzed and used to improve the program in year 3 of the project. In November 2023, New Roots staff had the opportunity to attend a New Roots Network Conference in Austin, TX with other IRC New Roots programs across the country. This 3-day training covered the many aspects of New Roots programming across the country including presentations on the various youth programs, approaches that different programs use, networking with other youth program staff, and a tour of a local youth agriculture program, Urban Roots. Recruitment for the youth program will begin in January, with outreach to community partners such as CCS and the Columbus Center who work with youth and expressed interest in the New Roots youth program in 2023, and outreach within New Roots gardening and farming families. New Roots SLC will also use the winter months to further discuss potential program changes to address challenges seen in 2023. These potential changes include creating separate focuses for youth to specialize in agricultural production or marketing and sales; further integrating youth into broader New Roots programming including more involvement in sales avenues,? and projects at other New Roots farm and garden sites; beginning the spring cohort earlier so the youth can be involved in spring planting and growing starts at the greenhouse; providing additional marketing avenues such as another farmers market, a youth-managed wholesale account, or CSA; and changing the summer programming times so the youth can spend a larger amount of time working on their plots before it becomes too hot. With the success of the first year of having a Youth Leader role, New Roots SLC also intends repeat this opportunity for returning or new youth who are high school graduates. NR SLC hopes to be able to provide a more robust Youth Leader training track, including role training and information on general IRC onboarding, youth program background and history, curriculum overview, and facilitation skills in the spring so that the youth leaders feel more prepared for their roles during the bulk of programming, as this was not possible in 2023 due to some timing issues.??
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In 2023, IRC SLC's NR program enrolled 21 youth, with 12 consistently attending programming through the end of the fall cohort, working towards the goal of engaging 68 youth in educational and community engagement programming focused on agriculture, leadership and food systems by the end of 4 years. NR staff delivered a spring, summer and fall youth cohort of the YALL program this project year, including 20 total weeks of youth agriculture programming. NR SLC staff facilitated events and trainings for participants such as field days on the NR Redwood Farm where the youth plots are located; field trips to the NR Draper Farm, local food justice organizations, and local farms; sales of produce and market management and facilitation roles at SFM and workshops and trainings on curriculum topics. GOAL 1: Outcome 1.1:YALL activities provided youth with sustainable agriculture workshops and experiential training to increase the availability of locally produced and culturally preferred food in new American communities. YALL youth grew produce on 5 plots at the NR Redwood Farm. Youth contributed to increased food access for food-insecure populations in Salt Lake County by selling produce and distributing food pantry items at SFM, harvesting and donating fruit from the Green Urban Lunchbox (GULB), volunteering at the Utah Food Bank, and assisting farmers and NR staff in assembling and distributing emergency food boxes to food insecure new American families. 12 youth completed 786 hours of community service at local hunger relief organizations and farmers markets. Outcome 1.2: 12 youth enrolled during the end of the summer and fall cohort sold produce regularly at SFM. This allowed youth to learn to harvest, wash and prepare their produce, as well as determine pricing structure, accept payment and conduct customer outreach during the market. 12 youth also assisted farmers and New Roots staff in the assembly and distribution of 150 emergency food boxes for food insecure new American families. Outcome 1.3: At the end of the 2022 cohort, NR YALL staff conducted surveys on program effectiveness and lasting impacts, including healthy eating practices. Healthy eating practices were evaluated using questions such as quality of food changes, and improvements to health. In review of this feedback, NR SLC staff found 75% of youth feel that they are now eating healthier due to the program. Outcome 1.4: 12 families of youth participants experienced impacts of youth earning supplemental income through stipends for participation in the YALL program. Over the 2023 cohort, youth collectively earned $5,120 in stipends. In addition, during the summer and fall cohort participants harvested and took home produce after each YALL meeting. GOAL 2: Outcome 2.1: During the summer cohort, NR SLC structured educational and experiential activities to take on a rotating but connected focus of agricultural education, food justice, healthy eating, team building, leadership and personal development, and community engagement. For example, youth learned about local and global food justice issues through learning modules and applied this knowledge while volunteering at local food justice organizations and while supporting community members to access culturally preferred food at SFM. Youth also attended workshops where they learned the basics of nutrition and practiced preparing healthy meals and snacks. Youth participated in a field trip to Roots Charter High, another local youth program that focuses on goat husbandry, to learn about and work with goats. Production of produce, sales to these market avenues, and involvement in the farmers market operations provided opportunities for youth to gain production and food systems knowledge. Outcome 2.2: In 2023, 12 youth practiced leadership and job-readiness skills such as time management, peer collaboration, task efficiency, and problem solving to improve their knowledge of US workplace cultural norms. Youth increased responsibilities and leadership during the SFM, taking on market management tasks such as food pantry distribution, benefits booth management, and assisting farmers in packing emergency food distribution bags. Youth continued the same roles at SFM throughout the season so they could feel an increased sense of ownership over their stations and improve upon their tasks there. Youth also assisted with packing the NR Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes for multiple weeks during the summer cohort, allowing them to improve their collaborative skills and task efficiency in packing the boxes. NR SLC staff also ensured that the program provided a solid environment for practicing skills such as arriving on time, communicating, requesting time off or early leave, and arranging transportation. Youth participated in specific workshops focused on essential job-readiness skills as well such as self-care, establishing goals, conflict resolution, and giving constructive feedback and affirmations to peers. YALL piloted hiring a youth leader for the cohort in 2023. This leader was a participant in the 2022 cohort and had just completed her first year of college. The leader took on additional responsibilities beyond participation as a youth participant, joining planning meetings with the NR Youth Specialists and NR Program Manager and leading activities, projects, and groups for YALL participants. This youth leader position was created to further engage returning YALL participants with the broader IRC and NR programs, and provide opportunity for youth to gain professional and leadership skills to prepare for future professional roles. GOAL 3: Outcome 3.1: New American youth who participated in the YALL cohorts learned leadership, communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills and developed confidence through lessons and experiential learning. Youth grew their leadership skills, including identifying their strengths and growth areas, increasing self-awareness through lessons and activities on mindfulness practices, and understanding?identity. The continuity of the same students participating in the 3 seasonal cohorts in 2023 allowed youth to develop and foster a shared sense of community within the program and improve their social-emotional competencies over the extended time. In 2023 youth took on a larger leadership role in managing the SFM through operating and selling food at their own market stand, and independently running the food pantry and benefits booths. These responsibilities helped youth build skills in customer service, collaboration, and communication, which were practiced in multiple processes of the market including interacting with customers, handling financial transactions and organizing and distributing food pantry items to the community. Outcome 3.2: YALL youth engaged in local food systems issues within the?community and gained context through field visits to other local farms and food pantries, participation at NR farmers markets, and supporting NR SLC's emergency food distribution. 12 youth practiced educating others on sustainable food systems during field trips to Roots Charter High that involved peer-to-peer exchange, at volunteer days at GULB harvesting fruit for distribution to low-income seniors, and through volunteer days with community members at the Redwood Farm. Outcome 3.3: Youth participated in a mentorship program with adult farmers participating in the NR program, supporting farmers during field days, harvests, and at SFM. YALL participants provided education and engaged 1,300 community members in local, sustainable food systems at the SFM to improve their knowledge of and ability to access culturally preferred food, as well as assisting in the marketing and outreach of SFM. Youth volunteered at the market's benefits booth, providing education on utilization of various produce incentive match programs and SNAP redemption at the market, and volunteered at the market's food pantry.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience during this project period were refugee, immigrant, and asylee youth (collectively: "New American") youth. Early in 2022, IRC SLC conducted stakeholder outreach with current IRC youth clients, Refugee Youth Interns, and participants in the Refugee 4-H Goat Club to recruit youth for the first year of the Youth Agriculture Livestock and Leadership (Y'ALL) project to engage new American youth ages 12-18 in learning and skills development related to agriculture, food justice, animal husbandry, leadership, and community engagement. IRC SLC enrolled 12 high school aged youth in the project in early 2022 for the Spring cohort. The cohort participants included youth who had participated in the Refugee 4-H Goat Club in previous years, as well as youth whose parents or family members participate in New Roots SLC's farmer training program. Eight of the initial students continued their participation through the end of the Fall 2022 cohort, and many plan to return for the second year of programming starting in March 2023. Educational efforts including curriculum focused on food justice, agricultural production, food systems and food justice, and leadership development, were geared towards new American youth audiences served through the project. Changes/Problems:While New Roots SLC had anticipated cohorts of unique participants each season, participants from the initial spring cohort were interested in continuing into the summer and fall sessions, and New Roots adjusted programming to a continuing curriculum of activities, field trips, and workshops through the three seasons. This continuity helped to build group cohesion and supportive environment among the youth. New Roots staff realized that engaging a group of the same youth over a longer period resulted in more confidence in participants and positive team cohesion. New Roots staff also enjoyed working with the same youth participants over time to introduce a scaffolded curriculum that built on introductory topics covered during the initial seasonal cohort in the spring. New Roots SLC intends to continue to allow youth participants to continue through multiple seasonal cohorts and design a curriculum and activities that allows for building youth understanding and knowledge acquisition over a full season of programming. New Roots SLC did not experience other major changes or deviations to our approach.? What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?New Roots SLC staff have engaged in various professional development opportunities during this project period. New Roots SLC staff engaged in facilitative leadership trainings and plain language and visual literacy training through projects supported by the Novo Foundation and the USDA's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, which provided training and resources that supported staff in facilitating effective youth programming. In addition, in September 2022, the Youth Agricultural Specialist and New Roots Program Manager attended the Food Project Institute in Boston, MA. This 3-day training covered the Food Project's methods and models, history, and best practices and offered a full day of immersion into the organization's youth programs. Learnings from this institute will inform planning and implementation of Y'ALL programming during the second year of the project.? How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During this project period, New Roots SLC continued to develop a partnership with the Refugee 4-H Goat Club, which offers new American youth the opportunity to practice livestock rearing skills, show, and auction their goats. New Roots SLC built a new partnership with Roots Charter High School farm program staff to provide opportunities for resource sharing, collaboration, and youth peer-to-peer teaching. Throughout the first year of the project, New Roots staff also built on existing or newly developing partnerships with local farms, food justice, or environmental organizations to integrate youth field trips and guest lessons into Y'ALL programming. New Roots SLC staff assembled these Y'ALL partners throughout the summer, including through regular communication on Y'ALL activities and progress, and bi-weekly partner meetings, and disseminated information around project outcomes and results during these meetings. New Roots SLC also regularly integrated feedback sessions with Y'ALL youth and engaged their parents and family members in end of year celebrations as well. New Roots SLC staff intend to discuss project results and conduct additional outreach for future participation with Y'ALL youth participants, their friends, and family members in the coming months. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the second year of the project, New Roots SLC plans to increase outreach and recruitment to increase participation in the cohort. In this year of the project, staff will conduct outreach beyond the participants of the Refugee 4-H Goat Club from first year. New Roots SLC also intends to explore development of peer mentor roles for returning participants to continue to engage with the program and support the new youth crew, including potentially a spring peer leader training track that could parallel the regular cohort. New Roots SLC will continue to balance the program's focus on agricultural production with infusion of youth knowledge gain on food systems topics and leadership and socio-emotional skills. Staff will continue to focus project activities and lessons on team building, leadership skills development, food systems, technical agriculture, and community engagement, and explore further methods of integrating Y'ALL activities with other areas of New Roots program activities that focus on food access and food systems. New Roots SLC also plans to build in additional marketing skills development during the second year of the project, including supporting the youth to track their sales and income generated from produce sales. In subsequent years, New Roots aims to refine the Y'ALL schedule and activities to focus additional time on management of plots to continue to scale up the quantity of produce produced by Y'ALL participants.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
IRC's New Roots (NR) program initially enrolled 12 youth, with 8 consistently attended programming through the end of the fall cohort, working towards the goal of engaging 64 youth in educational and community engagement programming focused on agriculture, leadership and food systems by the end of three years. NR staff delivered a spring, summer and fall youth cohort of the Y'ALL program during this project year, which included 26 total weeks of youth agriculture programming. NR SLC staff facilitated events and trainings for participants such as field days, youth-led volunteer days on the New Roots farm, field trips to local food justice organizations and local farms, and workshops and trainings on curriculum topics. NR SLC staff monitored Y'ALL program effectiveness through post-assessments of lessons and cohort activities. NR SLC staff integrated feedback sessions for youth to express their thoughts on lessons and activities, which NR SLC combined with staff observation of effectiveness of activities. These evaluations will also be integrated into year 2 Y'ALL structural design and curriculum components. NR conducted a Participant Survey with all youth enrolled at the end of the fall cohort, which measured changes in food access, health and wellbeing outcomes, and psychosocial support networks. GOAL 1 Outcome 1.1 Y'ALL activities provided youth with sustainable agriculture workshops and experiential training to increase the availability of locally produced and culturally preferred food in new American communities. Y'ALL youth grew produce on 8 plots at the NR Redwood Farm. Youth contributed to increased food access for food-insecure populations in Salt Lake County through selling their available produce at the Sunnyvale Farmers Market (SFM) and assembled 308 emergency food boxes for distribution to newly resettled refugee families. 12 youth completed 165 hours of community service at local hunger relief organizations. Outcome 1.2 Y'ALL youth earned stipends during each of the 3 cohorts that they participated in. The 8 youth enrolled during the end of the summer cohort and during the fall cohort sold produce regularly at SFM. Selling their produce allowed youth to learn to harvest, wash, and prepare their produce, as well as determine their pricing structure, accept payment, and conduct customer outreach during the market. Outcome 1.3 IRC SLC concluded the final 2022 seasonal cohort at the end of October 2022 and is in the process of evaluating the lasting impacts of Y'ALL educational impacts for youth, including healthy eating practices upon graduation. NR SLC is engaging youth in feedback sessions and evaluations duringto measure longer term program impacts on diet, and will report on these metrics in subsequent annual reports once data has been gathered and analyzed. Outcome 1.4 8 families of youth experienced impacts of youth earning supplemental income through stipends for participation in the Y'ALL program as well as regular access to healthy food grown by participants. During the end of the summer cohort and during the fall cohort when produce was ripe, participants harvested and took home produce after each Y'ALL meeting. GOAL 2 Outcome 2.1 During the Summer cohort, NR SLC structured educational and experiential activities to take on a rotating but connected focus of agricultural education, food justice topics, team building, leadership and personal development, and community engagement. For example, youth learned about local and global food justice issues through learning modules including "Introduction to Food Justice Terms" and "Our Food Chain," and then applied this knowledgewhile supporting community members to access culturally preferred food at SFM. Activities were geared towards topics such as food production, goat husbandry, and healthy eating skills, and food systems, with youth gaining knowledge through educational modules and field days. NR SLC staff conducted daily post-assessments and gathered informal feedback from youth to assess knowledge retention and youth excitement about the experiential learning activities. NR SLC staff will utilize this feedback when planning workshops for next season's cohort to ensure that lessons are relevant and accessible for participants. Youth raised 14 goats and collectively earned over $4,000 in revenue from the auction of their goats at end of season livestock auction organized at Roots Charter High School. Youth participated in daily fieldwork sessions putting into practice agricultural production concepts they learned about in previous lessons. Youth sold produce regularly to customers at SFM and into the NR emergency food distribution program. Y'ALL youth also sold their produceat a booth at the livestock auction. Production of produce and sales to these market avenues provided opportunities for youth to gain production and food systems knowledge. Outcome 2.2 The 12 youth in the first-year cohorts practiced leadership and job-readiness skills to improve their knowledge of U.S. workplace cultural norms as well as essential job-readiness skills such as time management, peer collaboration, and problem solving. Job-readiness skills development and learnings were woven into many activities that the youth engaged in, such as through leadership assignments during field work blocks at the NR farm and during market days at SFM. Youth participated in specific workshops focused on essential job-readiness skills as well, such as workshops on self-care, establishing goals, conflict resolution, and giving constructive feedback and affirmations to peers. GOAL 3 Outcome 3.1 New American youth who participated in the Y'ALL cohorts learned leadership, communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills and developed confidence through lessons and experiential learning. Youth grew their leadership skills, including identifying their strengths and growth areas, increasing self-awareness through lessons and activities focused mindfulness practices, and understanding?identity. The continuity of the same students participating in the 3 seasonal cohorts throughout 2022 allowed youth to develop and foster a shared sense of community within the program and improve their social-emotional competencies over the extended time. Youth practiced leadership through regularly leading tours and volunteer field workdays at the farm; leading cooking activities; supporting farmers market operations and engaging with market customers and community members; and engaging in peer-to-peer sharing during joint activities with Roots Charter High School students. Outcome 3.2 Y'ALL youth engaged in local food systems issues within the?community and gained context through field visits to other local farms and food pantries, participation at NR farmers markets, and supporting NR SLC's emergency food distribution. 12 youth practiced educating others on sustainable food systems during field trips to Roots Charter High that involved peer-to-peer exchange, at volunteer days at the Green Urban Lunch Box harvesting fruit for distribution to low-income seniors, and through leading 7 farm tours and volunteer days with community members at the Redwood Farm. Outcome 3.3 Youth participated in many areas of community engagement to educate and engage community members in local, sustainable food systems. Youth participated in farmer to youth mentorship with farmers participating in the NR, supporting farmers during field days, harvests, and at SFM. Y'ALL participants provided education and engaged 490 community members in local, sustainable food systems at the SFM to improve their knowledge of and ability to access culturally preferred food. Youth volunteered at the market's benefits booth, providing education on utilization of various produce incentive match programs and SNAP redemption at the market, and volunteered at the market's food pantry.?
Publications
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