Grow Dat Youth Farm Brings Fresh Food and Jobs to New Orleans

Nestled on four acres in New Orleans’ beautiful <a href="http://neworleanscitypark.com/index.html">City Park</a> is <a href="http://growdatyouthfarm.org/">Grow Dat Youth Farm</a>, an <a href="http://growdatyouthfarm.org/what-we-do/our-farm/">urban farm</a> that provides fresh food to inner-city New Orleans and job opportunities in for high school students. Working with students who have already taken gardening and cooking classes, Grow Dat Youth Farm creates a supportive, healthy and inspiring environment for New Orleans youth who still face <a href="http://www.archdaily.com/245235/the-grow-dat-youth-farm-seedocs-mini-documentaries-on-the-power-of-public-interest-design/">daunting job prospects</a> several years after the horrors of Hurricane Katrina. The farm emphasizes community, environmental stewardship and leadership through a collaborative effort to grow fresh food.

The farm operates during the local schools’ spring semester between January and June. Each week, students work one day after school and on Saturdays.

The Grow Dat Program is a social entrepreneurship that includes many local organizations. Partners include the Tulane City Center and Clean Plate Projects.

In the wake of Katrina, the farm and its facilities, designed by Tulane University’s architecture department, have a critical role in providing fresh ingredients as the number of supermarkets within New Orleans’ city limits has declined since 2005 and are now primarily in the wealthier neighborhoods.

This rendering shows how many neighborhoods in New Orleans are "food deserts." Many poor New Orleans residents live more than 3 miles from a supermarket.

The farm works with high schools and several youth organizations to recruit a diverse group of youth that together can develop both leadership and everyday life skills.

Everyone is welcome to work at Who Dat Youth Farm: 20 percent of the students have demonstrated top leadership skills, 20 percent are “at-risk” youth, and 60 percent are in that middle range, as in the average students who often fall through the cracks.

The program then ramps up in June with four days of work required. The students earn $50 a week until June, when wages rise to $200 per week. Photo courtesy <a href="http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/030311_growdat.cfm">Tulane University and Sabree Hill</a>

The farm is just steps away from City Park's beautiful oak trees. Photo courtesy Wikipedia (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CityParkNewOrleans2005-07OakTrees.jpg">drusjaz</a>)