Youth and Community Gardens Program

garden Youth Urban Gardening Internship (YUGI) Garden at Carver High School

crate
YUGI students give a tour
to Master Gardener
Volunteers, June 2018

Starting in Spring 2017, Forsyth Community Gardening partnered with Carver High School to launch a Youth Urban Gardening Internship for students from northeast Winston-Salem! Youth in this program grow and market fresh produce, learn sustainable gardening practices, conduct garden-based citizen science projects, cook healthy meals, and participate in workshops on leadership, life skills, and social justice issues in our food system.


Help our Community Grow!

We believe that youth can be leaders in building healthy communities where all have access to fresh produce. Your gift can help make this a reality by supporting development of a youth garden site, tools and supplies, youth intern stipends, transportation assistance, and more:

sprouts
Crimson Clover cover crop
in the YUGI Garden, Spring
2018. Students learn to
improve the soil with
sustainable practices like
cover cropping.

$250 provides for one Youth Intern’s monthly stipend.

$300 will pay for a drip irrigation system for a quarter-acre youth market garden.

$2,250 provides for one Youth Intern’s stipend for a full 9-month growing season.

You may donate online, by mail, and/or by volunteering:

  • Donate to the Youth and Community Gardens Program online
  • To donate by mail, please:
    • Make your check payable to NC Agricultural Foundation, Inc.
    • Write "Forsyth YCGP" in the memo line.
    • Mail to Forsyth County Cooperative Extension, 1450 Fairchild Rd., Winston-Salem NC 27105
    • Please include your full name, address, phone, and email so we may send you a receipt and our thanks!
  • To contribute by volunteering, please contact Julie Hale, Youth and Community Gardens Coordinator for the Healthy Eating Initiative.

Fundraising efforts for the Youth and Community Gardens Program operate under the auspices of the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit, Tax ID 56-6049304. You will receive an official receipt for your donation.

The Program: Youth Urban Gardening Internship

sunflower
Spring harvest of turnips
in the YUGI Garden, 2019

The YUGI program currently offers paid internships for 12 youth from northeast Winston-Salem during Spring, Summer, and Fall sessions, each lasting three months. Youth must live or go to school in or near the 13 neighborhoods in that are the focus of the United Way Place Matters Program. Interns work and learn two days per week after school and part-day on Saturdays.

Youth participating in the internship:

  • Grow and market fresh produce using environmentally-friendly gardening practices
  • Conduct garden-based citizen science projects, such as variety trials
  • Learn to cook healthy meals
  • Participate in workshops on leadership, life skills, and social justice issues in our food system
  • Teach others about gardening, environmental stewardship, and healthy eating

Interns who complete two sessions successfully have the opportunity to continue in the program, take on leadership roles, and receive a higher stipend.

For details and to request an application, please contact Mr. Christopher Jeffords, Youth and Community Gardens Coordinator for the Healthy Eating Initiative.

YUGI Program Coordinator at Carver High School.

HEI

The Youth Urban Gardening Internship is part of the Healthy Eating Initiative, a partnership between Crisis Control Ministry, Forsyth Cooperative Extension, and Grace Presbyterian Church. By supporting community gardens, urban agriculture, and cooking and nutrition classes in northeast Winston-Salem, we will:

  • Improve access to healthy food
  • Educate individuals about nutrition
  • Assist urban gardeners and farmers in growing healthy food
  • Provide youth and adults with leadership, life skills, and job skills training.

The Healthy Eating Initiative is supported in part by the United Way Place Matters Program.