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| Youth from the Class of 2014 harvesting sweet potatoes |
Keon
(18): “I have been with the Sweet
Potato Project for three years. I have gotten speech and agriculture skills out
of this program. It gives me a sign that my community still cares and makes me
happy to make change.”
I've gotten pretty good at quickly describing the basics of our program in a way
that seems to resonate with people. No matter their differences, most like the
idea of training young people to “do-for-self.” They know far too many impoverished
teens drop out of school, wind up unemployed, in poverty or in prisons. Now
that “Ferguson” has become the international catchphrase for racial
dysfunction, we all know that something drastic must be done to create
opportunities for the generational poor. Many see the long-range benefits of helping
teens become pioneers of a sustainable, food-based economic development
movement in North St. Louis.
What
I’m not so good at is turning more of
those affirmative nods into affirmative action. Don’t get me wrong, I've been
somewhat successful. In three years we've come a long way with very little
resources. We have a couple major repeat sponsors. We've gone from providing summer jobs and training to 15 kids in
2012 to 35 teens last year to, hopefully, 40 this summer. We've grown from
planting on one vacant lot to five in 2014 with plans to plant on 20 lots this
year.
All
this has been done in a grassroots sort of way. Caring people gave of their
time and resources. A library, a church and the St. Louis Community College
system graciously allowed us to conduct classes in their spaces. Other benevolent
professionals have been instructors, volunteers and mentors. We have qualified individuals
working on our curriculum that includes culinary skills, financial literacy,
business plan and product development, food distribution and much more. Because
of their efforts we are getting better and better at showing our youth how to
become self-sufficient entrepreneurs in their own neighborhoods.
Tytianna
(18): “I've been in a lot of programs but the Sweet
Potato Project helps me become better at creating and distributing products and
keeping me focused on positive things. I believe in the success of the program
and the helpful things we learn as we enter the world as adults.
We’re
expanding the program this year. We have an institutional buyer for all the
sweet potatoes we can grow. So we’re reaching out to vacant land-owners, public
schools, churches and organizations. We have a very simple proposal: “You grow
and we’ll buy your harvest.” If they don’t have time to tend urban gardens, our
youth will grow on their property and we’ll use the harvest to make more
products.
We’re
on a positive path with a team of qualified individuals who've undertaken grant
writing for us. However, even if we successfully secure all the grants we’re
seeking those funds won’t be rewarded for at least a couple months. The “now”
is my biggest concern. We need to prepare all properties now and start planting
next month. The summer program begins in June. There’s a need for immediate
donations now.
Edie
(19): “Not only does the Sweet Potato
Project give urban youth a way to make money and stay out of trouble, it
teaches lifelong skills that we don’t learn in school. I’m glad to be a part of
such a great project and can only imagine the things it will do for the
community and our futures.”
Some
experienced people have warned me about putting our needs out there. “Let the ‘positive’
dictate the response,” some say. Well, I respect that and all, but I want
people to take pride in their individual roles in building a powerful grassroots organization. Corporate and institutional support is wonderful but I also want a foundation of dedicated, consistent citizen-givers. I think its empowering for them to know that their donation-be it $10 or
$100-helped prepare young people to become self-reliant land-owners and urban farmers. I want their chests to puff up a bit on the day they see our products on the shelves of major grocers. I want them to know that they helped do that, too.
We even make sure our students understand
that raising money is a 24/7 endeavor for their
project, their summer jobs and we invite them to come up with ways to generate money for the
program.
Ranesha (18): “This
project gives me hope, confidence and makes me believe that we can actually
become something and be successful at what we do.”
Ranesha (18): “This
project gives me hope, confidence and makes me believe that we can actually
become something and be successful at what we do.”
I
think what mostly captures people’s attention about SPP is that it’s about real
empowerment: giving the disadvantaged the tools to create and sustain their own
opportunities in their own neighborhoods. We imagine a collective-not just growing
on 5 or 20 lots-but on whole city blocks. Imagine a North St. Louis food system
where extraordinary ordinary folk are growing enough food to supply major
grocers, local restaurants, bakeries, coffee shop and other retail outlets. We
think we have a cost-effective way to build a farmer’s market and, later, a food
manufacturing plant-both in North St. Louis. This is how you empower people, communities;
this is how you create real local jobs and bring economic stability to
long-neglected neighborhoods.
One
day maybe we can hire the talent whose job it is to deliver this vision in a
more impacting, succinct and response-getting way. For now, I have to rely on my down-to-earth way
of simply writing, talking and working harder to turn those positive nods into
affirmative reactions.
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