Recipient Organization
SPROUT CITY FARMS, INC.
6700 E VIRGINIA AVE
DENVER,CO 802241346
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Sprout City Farms (SCF) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that has built community-based educational urban farms across the Denver metro area for over a decade (since 2010). Our proposal builds upon our existing work of farm-to-school curriculum development for grades K-12 and student career opportunities in agriculture and the wider food system.Among the younger generations, there is a general lack of knowledge regarding food sources, and lack of interest in agricultural careers. Many American children know that food comes from the supermarket and goes into their mouths, but often neglect to be educated on how it arrived on the shelves or how the food impacts their environment and their bodies. In reality, much of the food kids consume (when they have access to food) is not sustainable for their health or the health of the planet. Furthermore, the current population of farmers is rapidly aging, posing a need for young people to enter into agricultural careers.Creating a full-time year-round Education Coordinator position, implementing agricultural curricula in K-8 classrooms, and providing paid summer internships for high school kids will educate students in the Denver metropolitan area on methods of modern food production, the need for sustainable agriculture, and what healthy eating looks like through hands-on and developmentally appropriate learning material. By providing paid educational opportunities for aspiring farmers in sustainable small-scale food production, prioritizing career-enhancing resources for historically-disadvantaged farmers, Sprout City Farms is cultivating an agricultural workforce that is prepared to mitigate the impacts of climate change through sustainable growing practices that will continue nourishing their communities across the Front Range and larger United States.Sprout City Farms will work with a K-8 Denver Public School, Denver Green School, on integrating agricultural education into classroom curriculum for 550 students all grades and subjects; assist in teaching a high school elective course Youth Food Leadership and Advocacy Program (YFLAP) to at least 50 students across three Denver Public High Schools; and streamline entry into agriculture work for recent high school graduates through four paid youth agriculture internships per summer for high school students that have participated in our farm-to-school curricula. Program participants will pass agricultural skill assessment tests andmark at least an 85% increase in knowledge about natural sciences, food production, industrial and local food systems (including food apartheid) after their engagement with SCF, as measured in pre- and post-season surveys and focus groups.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Major goals of the project and metrics of program success:Create a full-time year-round Education Coordinator position exclusively dedicated to cultivating and expanding educational programming.Cultivate paid entry-level opportunities for young people to build foundational experience towards a career in agriculture: SCF will host four paid youth interns for eight weeks at our farms during each scholastic summer (2024 and 2025), with priority given to youth who have experienced the Denver Green School (DGS) and Youth Food Leadership and Advocacy Program (YFLAP) curricula.Support a portion of Farm Managers' time training farm crew members.Create and implement curricula to teach kids about sustainable food production:Finalize and implement new DGS farm to school curriculum for K-8 students; continue supporting the YFLAP program.Serve 650 youth each year through our education programs.Participants will express 80% or higher satisfaction with the program.Participants will demonstrate 75% increase in ag knowledge (measured by surveys).
Project Methods
Sprout City Farms is dedicated to being a valuable resource to our communities, and annually reassesses our programs through pre- and post-season interviews, focus groups, and surveys with program participants, facilitated by a third-party evaluation consultant. Surveys consistently show students' and interns' increase in knowledge on the topics covered in our curriculum, and we utilize the results combined with qualitative feedback to modify and improve our programming each year. Impact will be measured in pre- and post-season surveys, with anticipated results of participants demonstrating a 75% increase in agricultural knowledge and expressing an 80% or higher satisfaction with the program. While our farms are rooted in the city, the farming sciences and community approaches we teach are valuable whether program participants go on to farm in urban or rural areas.