While most students were relaxing this summer, the IRC in Atlanta’s Youth Food Justice (YFJ) interns were hard at work at Clarkston High School (CHS), completing a brand new garden for their classmates, teachers and community to enjoy!
Youth Food Justice and WorkSource DeKalb interns, summer 2018.
Photo: IRC Atlanta
Construction of the new school garden began in April, made possible by a donation from the Whole Kids Foundation and our 2017-18 FoodCorps service member, Zashe Cockett-Demings. The YFJ interns were successfully able to bring the project to completion over the summer, with help from volunteers from the Paideia School, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, and WorkSource DeKalb Interns, Niang and Bahishta.
Funded by the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, the YFJ internship is a stipend-based, eight-week hands-on learning experience open to 27 CHS students per year across four separate cohorts. YFJ interns work closely with the IRC in Atlanta’s New Roots program coordinator to develop valuable leadership and work skills through maintaining and managing the school gardens, leading service projects with local community-based organizations, and making field visits to farmers’ markets, gardens and food production and processing sites.
“The new garden, built by our dedicated interns, is for Clarkston High School—for students and teachers to use and enjoy as they need for learning and leisure,” said New Roots Coordinator, Katie Hiebert. “This took a real collaborative effort to clear the space and now there’s a blank canvas, ready to be engaged with and enjoyed.”
This summer’s all-male crew of six YFJ interns didn’t know each other at first, but soon bonded over hard work, shared experiences and lots of laughs, and have continued their friendship outside of the program. We are grateful for their commitment to serving their school and community.
To learn more about the work of the IRC in Atlanta and for information on how you can get involved with the IRC as a donor or volunteer, please contact Senior Development Manager, Kalie Lasiter, at Kalie.Lasiter [at] Rescue.org or 678-636-8941.
Stay connected to the IRC in Atlanta! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram for announcements and upcoming events!