Kids Learn the Basics of Organic Food

ALBANY -- Jasmine Morris rarely looked at labels on food packages when she went shopping or gave much thought to her meals' nutritional value -- or lack thereof.
That was before Youth Organics.

Now the 12-year-old girl eats salads. She has her family eating more whole grain foods. And she pays attention to those labels. Her transformation is tied to Youth Organics, a six-week leadership and gardening-skills program for young people in the South End.

"She eats healthier and is realizing the importance of her diet and the foods she eats," said her mother Desarea Morris-Drumgo.

Jasmine's brother, Jason Brooks, got his sister involved in the program after he participated last year. Both plan to join again this summer.

"They are so excited about this," Morris-Drumgo said.

Youth Organics organizers hope to alter more mindsets when the growing season starts, but they will need money to do so. The Howe Public Library is hosting a Youth Organics fundraiser Saturday, beginning with an African dance and drum class at 5 p.m., followed by a potluck dinner and hip-hop show at 7 p.m.

Proceeds will provide opportunities for 12- and 13-year-olds in the Youth Organics burgeoning gardening programs. Teens 14 to 18 years old can earn stipends through the city's Summer Youth Employment Office at Bleecker Stadium. Signups begin Saturday and end April 6.

Youth Organics was created four years ago as a gardening and arts program for young children by the Grand Street Community Arts, and morphed into a leadership training program for teens last year with the help of Jess Oppenheimer, a University at Albany graduate.

"We see a huge rise in obesity in the last 10 years related to people not exercising and eating poorly," said Oppenheimer, who believes the program offers people an opportunity for wholesome, educational outdoor activities they might not otherwise have a chance to experience.

"A lot of these kids have never left their part of Albany, much less been out of the city," she said.

Youth Organics has small gardens around the city, but the primary location is on the corner of Third and Hawk streets. There, on a 1,000-square-foot plot, teens and adults collaborate to organically grow everything from potatoes and lettuce to squash, collard greens and herbs.

Thirty percent of their harvest is donated to local food pantries while the remainder is used for cooking and food-preservation classes or sold at farmers markets. The six-week summer program culminates with a community dinner.

Oppenheimer's goal is to make Youth Organics a year-round program.

"For some of these kids, this is the only positive thing in their life," Oppenheimer said. "It teaches them basic life skills they will have the rest of their lives."

"It was a good experience for my kids," she said. "Jasmine even plans to start her own garden in the backyard this year."

Rick Clemenson can be reached by e-mail at rclemenson@timesunion.com