County Youth Farmstands

Atlantic County

Roots of Knowledge 2004 Youth Farmstand in Action

Twelve (12) youth from the Youth Corps program participated in the summer farmstand program for a total of 237 hours. The youth were responsible for all aspects of the entrepreneurial experience, and became proficient in the positions of salesperson, cashier and stand management.

The youth farmstand operated once a week for 10-weeks and served 367 customers. The farmstand benefited the community by offering residents with limited or no transportation the opportunity to purchase nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables. Herb plants were offered for sale to provide residents a chance to start their own gardens. It is estimated that approximately 75% of the customers did not normally have regular access to fresh produce, and that most returned weekly to the farmstand. During the first part of the farmstand season unsold produce was donated to the Atlantic City Rescue Mission to feed the homeless. This provided additional supplies to the mission and promoted the value of community service to the youth. The farmstand also offered free blood pressure screening by the Atlantic City Health Department for a day. Forty-eight (48) took advantage of this service.

Youth Corps members who participated in the summer youth farmstand and the winter poinsettia sales also contributed to community building projects. Youth participated in a series of workshops in New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania to learn more about food and farms. Project staff and youth conducted one of the workshops in Atlantic City. As a result of this workshop, plans are underway for a future mentoring program between the Youth Corps and a fourth grade class. The Youth Corps members also participated in an intergenerational bulb planting project with the Atlantic Adult Day Healthcare program. The youth helped the elderly and disabled individuals at the center to plant bulbs they could take home. This gave youth a chance to serve the community and to share with others what they knew about plants and gardening. The youth also learned food safety and food preparation skills in order to plan and prepare a Thanksgiving Dinner as a community service project for the needy.

Youth were also invited to present the New Jersey’s Youth Voices in Agriculture initiative as part of the Food and Farm Summit sponsored through the Northeast SARE gran in December 2004. The youth did a tremendous job!

Gloucester County

Seeds to Success 2004 Youth Farmstand

Photo: The Philly Phanatic grabs attention at the 2004 Woodbury grand opening!

The Philly Phanatic grabs attention at the 2004 Woodbury grand opening!

Twenty-eight (28) special needs youth applied to and were accepted to participate in two (2) Youth Farmstands. These youth partners operated the youth farmstands with as little hands-on assistance from the instructors as possible. Youth participated in a skill-a-thon on the last day of training before the farmstands opened, and again after the last day of business. Youth were tested on five skills: ability to make change and process government vouchers, produce identification, use of a cash register, use of a produce scale and knowledge of equivalent weights, and knowledge of produce-related measurement terms. Youth demonstrated increased scores on most items.

The youth farmstands promoted community food security by accepting WIC and Senior Nutrition program vouchers and providing fresh, nutritious fruits and vegetables.Seeds to Success generated total sales of $9,895 during July and August, but more importantly, a broader number of community members are now aware of the project. Almost 20% of total sales are attributed to voucher redemption by WIC families and senior citizens.

Customer satisfaction surveys were completed by 139 (non-duplicate) customers. Ninety-nine percent (99%) of customers surveyed indicated they hoped the farmstand would be open next year to meet their needs for quality, affordable produce!

The Youth Farmstands supported local farmers, and the farmers supported the Youth Farmstands! One farmer supported the pre-season training by voluntarily teaching all youth partners and supervisors the “care, marketing, quality and identification of produce,” as did a representative from the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. All farmer partners routinely interacted with the youth at the farmstands during deliveries. The farmers used this time to reinforce the pre-season training, and they providing pricing and display suggestions and other guidelines.

This year five (5) additional farmers and producers delivered fresh produce and/or local farm products such as honey, asparagus guacamole and salsa. The local produce suppliers look forward to working with us in 2005!

Gloucester County Fact Sheet

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Mercer County

Photo: 2004 Mercer County 4-H Youth Farmstand .

2004 Mercer County 4-H Youth Farmstand

Mercer County 4-H Youth Development partnered with the Cook College Office of Continuing Professional Education and the Mercer County One-Stop Career Center to provide a summer workforce preparation program for twelve at-risk youth from Trenton enrolled in the Drop-out Prevention Program through Jobs for America’s Graduates, Inc (JAG). The six-week RRE Youth Farmstand Program was designed to address JAG’s core employability competencies within the following categories: job attainment, job survival, work place skills, leadership and self development, and personal skills. Evaluation results demonstrated the youth did increase their work readiness competencies!

The 2004 Youth Farmstand included three components: training sessions, youth-operated farmstands, and field trips. The youth participated in nine all-day training sessions during the program’s initial week and subsequent Mondays. The training, provided by seven RCE of Mercer County faculty and staff from 4-H, ARMA, and FCHS, equipped the youth with the knowledge and skills needed to successfully operate their farmstands. Every Tuesday through Thursday, teams of youth participants operated three Jersey Fresh Farmstands in Trenton. Each team was responsible for every aspect of their business - including inventory, ordering, delivery, marketing, customer relations, and cash transactions. Weekly educational field trips to local agribusinesses reinforced the learning objectives of the program. The program ended with a closing ceremony in which the youth received recognition and profit sharing checks.

Mercer County Youth Farmstand participants set-up and operated three farmstands in Trenton from Tuesday to Thursday during five weeks of the program. The sites were located at the:

New Jersey Department of Agriculture
New Jersey Department of Labor
Mercer County Administration Building
Trent Center East and West – Senior Housing

Monmouth County

Useful Hands at Work: 2004 Youth Farmstand at Asbury Park

2004 Asbury Park Youth Farmstand participants with Ellen Williams, Monmouth County 4-H agent.

Ten (10) youth from Asbury Park, Neptune and Jackson operated a Monmouth County Youth Farmstand in the summer and fall of 2004. The Youth Farmstand operated Saturdays at the corner of Sunset Avenue and Main Street in Asbury Park. The program was overseen by 4-H Youth Development County Agent Ellen Williams. It was co-sponsored by 4-H and the Food Bank of Monmouth/Ocean Counties through a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Youth Farmstand in Asbury Park is an important workforce readiness program in Monmouth County. The program helps train youth in the skills they need for productive futures. Participants served the community while learning valuable life skills such as teamwork, financial management and critical thinking. Youth Farmstand training topics included customer relations, math, nutrition, gardening, cooking, understanding community needs and entrepreneurship.

The produce sold at the Monmouth County Youth Farmstand is Jersey Fresh produce grown by local farmers. The farmstand accepts Women, Infants and Children (WIC) vouchers and Senior farm market vouchers issued from the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services.

Youth Testimonials

“This summer job was a really nice experience. Besides the fact that this job gave me some money to put in my pocket, it also gave me new and challenging responsibilities as well as the ability to get over my “fear” of meeting and communicating with new people. At the beginning of the job at the middle school I wrote down that I would like to get rid of my low self-esteem and even though it’s not completely gone, I feel much more at ease.”

“I think the program is good, mostly because it is an early experience for the kids in Asbury and Neptune. The best part is the communication and relationships between me and my peers/employees and the adults. This program helps keep kids off the street and away from boredom for awhile.”

“It has taught me a lot since I have been here. I have learned how to talk to customers, how to express my feelings in front of my peers and how to sell products in an orderly fashion.”

“When they have festivals such as Clearwater and others, I find we have more customers attracted to our stand because more are in the area. I think the best seller at our stand was the corn because we sold many boxes of it everyday and we would always have to buy more. Another good seller was our peaches and tomatoes because we would always have to buy extra boxes just to keep up with the public demand and many times we would sell out.”

“ I have been working at this job for a few months and have already learned so much. I learned about marketing skills and about gardening from the Food Bank of Monmouth/Ocean counties.

“I think that the visit to the [Senior] center was a success. We sold much produce and I think the customers were satisfied with our service and I had a good time helping them.”

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