FoodShare’s School Grown, a schoolyard farming project, grows vegetables and fruits on school rooftops and lawns to create student employment. With urban farming, School Grown is closing the loop on food literacy from how young people eat, grow and learn.

Getting students involved in seeding, weeding, harvesting and running their own markets is vital for nurturing deep bonds between youth and food. Reading a textbook is fine, but little compares to getting soil on your hands and the first harvest of the season.