Delancey Life Learning Academy for Troubled Youth

Organic Opportunities 2005-06 Progress Report

We conceived of the Organic Opportunities Health Stand in order to achieve three complementary goals. First, we wanted to improve the eating habits and nutrition of Life Learning Academy (LLA) students and Treasure Island residents. Second, we wanted to provide an opportunity for LLA students to become active agents of positive change in their community. Finally, we wanted to strengthen the connections between the Life Learning Academy community and the larger Treasure Island community where we are located.

Our original plan to achieve these goals was the creation of a Health Stand selling fresh organic produce grown in our school’s mini-farm and distributing information about nutrition and healthful eating practices. During the summer of 2005, we created the Health Stand, holding roadside produce sales on 6 consecutive Fridays. Due to slow sales, we started the 2005-06 school year by devising a different strategy to achieve the three goals of improving nutrition, engaging students as active contributors to the community, and strengthening our school’s bonds with the community. We decided to begin a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) service delivering boxes of fresh, organic produce to subscribers’ homes or workplaces.

We launched our subscription produce box service in late September, 2005 with an advertising campaign using student-designed flyers. We sold our first subscriptions in early October. We delivered our first produce boxes on October 13th, 2005 and have made deliveries every two weeks since then.

Each produce box contains 4 to 6 kinds of vegetables, 2 to 3 kinds of fruit, and 3 to 4 kinds of herbs. LLA students grow most of the produce in our backyard mini-farm using strict organic standards; we supplement the boxes with certified organic produce we purchase wholesale or from farmer’s markets. In addition to produce, each box contains a newsletter with nutritional information, cooking suggestions, and information about local, sustainable agriculture. Students in the Organic Opportunities Garden Business class, the Nutrition class, and the LLA Culinary Arts classes all contribute information, ideas, and articles to the Produce Box newsletters. In addition, every month box subscribers receive a special packaged food item such as salsa, pesto, or tomato sauce prepared by Culinary Arts students using produce from our garden. We also include copies of our school newspaper in the produce boxes so that our box subscribers get a richer sense of our school and our students. Organic Opportunities has allowed our students to reach out and improve the lives of individual Treasure Island residents. All told, we have had sixteen delivery days and have delivered 103 boxes containing more than 1,000 pounds of organic produce.

Furthermore, in January, 2006, we secured sponsorships to provide free box subscriptions for low-income residents through the GlobalGiving website. Over the course of the year, we donated more than 50 boxes of produce to low-income Treasure Island families. We have also set up a stand at the Treasure Island Community picnic, selling organic produce and speaking with island residents about the health benefits of a diet rich in fresh produce.

Increased School/Community Engagement

Creating the Organic Opportunities produce box subscription service has not only increased the interaction between our school and individual members of our community, but has helped us forge tighter bonds with a variety of community-based and governmental organizations that serve the Treasure Island community. For example, we have worked closely with the Treasure Island Homeless Development Initiative (TIHDI). A TIHDI representative attended the meeting of the Organic Opportunities Steering Group in October, helping to review our business plans and make suggestions about the best ways to reach needy community members. TIHDI officials also invited us to do a presentation on the produce box service to a meeting of all non-profits serving Treasure Island residents. Finally, TIHDI members selected families to receive our free boxes. During the 2005-2006 school year, Organic Opportunities students went on a total of twenty-one field trips, including:

•5 field trips to the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture to learn about sustainable agriculture practices.

•2 field trips to Veritable Vegetable to tour the facilities of an organic wholesale produce distributor and learn about different career options.

•13 field trips to Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods, Rainbow Grocery, or the Civic Center Farmer’s Market to purchase organic fruit for resale in our boxes.

Over the course of the year, Organic Opportunities students gave mini-farm tours to more than 40 outside visitors, including San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Secretary of Education from Singapore. These tours provide our students an opportunity to shine. For once, the students, not the adults, are the experts.

Open Garden Celebration

We culminated the school year with an Open Garden Celebration on Wednesday, June 8th, 2006. Community and family-members came to school for tours and presentations by Organic Opportunities students. In the garden, ten students gave presentations at five different interpretive stations: Production Beds, Ornamental Beds, Native Plants, Drip Irrigation System, and Greenhouse. Student tour guides then led the guests to the reception room. In the reception room, guests visited five different stations for presentations by 8 more students: Benefits of Local Agriculture, Phytonutrients, An Overview of the Produce Delivery Service, and Student Produced Garden and Cooking Videos, Illustrated Garden Journals, and, of course Garden Snacks. More than 80% of the guests surveyed cited the knowledge, enthusiasm, or pride of the students as one of the reasons they enjoyed the tour.

Data

Getting data from our sponsored box subscribers has been difficult. However, with 40% of our surveys completed, the results show our program was a success. All respondents stated that the produce bag was an important source of fresh produce for them. All of them stated that it helped them eat a healthier diet. All of them stated that the health articles in the newsletter helped them learn more about good nutrition. Even more exciting, is that all of the respondents expressed interest in continuing to subscribe to the service even after the sponsorship ended.

During the 2005-2006 school year, we provided fresh, organic produce to both students and Treasure Island community members who would not otherwise have purchased it. Both LLA students and produce box subscribers increased their knowledge of healthful eating practices. LLA students made tangible contributions to both the LLA mini-farm and the Treasure Island community. Finally, Life Learning Academy students and staff strengthened our relationships with individuals and organizations beyond the immediate school community.

Thank you very much for your generous support. Your investment in our school has empowered our students to become positive agents of change. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact me at rpguthriejr@yahoo.com or (415) 699-0293.