By Margaret O’Shea Bonner
Published in June 2005
Given a chance, any of us has the possibility of changing our lives. Tyler, one of twelve youth in the Youth Mentorship in Urban Agriculture program at The Working Centre, knows this first-hand. He has always loved cooking, but finding an opportunity to develop these skills has not been an easy task. “I started cooking when I was five, taking things out of my mom’s cupboard and making stuff, I loved doing that, but when I looked for work all I could find was a dishwashing job” Just over a month ago he heard about this program and decided to apply for a position. It’s a pretty amazing program, giving people like Tyler an opportunity to reach for their dreams. Priority in this project is given to youth facing barriers to finding and keeping employment. The 12 youth come from a diverse background, and bring a broad range of experiences, education, interests and skills to the project.
The project has three sectors: 1) Marker Gardening, Greenhouse and Community Supported Gardening, 2) Artisan Baking and Food Preparation, and 3) Herbal Gardening and Herbal Product Development, with four youth participating in each sector.
The market gardening sector will develop skills in all aspects of this field from planting to harvesting, will support the existing Whole Food Box CSA program, and will introduce the participants to natural landscaping and ecological restoration. Those involved in the baking and food preparation sector will prepare daily meals at St. John’s Kitchen, develop menu planning, safe food handling and other skills and can be found every Wednesday from 11:30 am to 1:00pm making pizza at Queens Greens across from Joseph Schneider house on Queen Street West.(Individual pizzas are available for a suggested donation of $2.00 – $3.00.) And the herbal gardening group will participate in all aspects of herbal gardening and herbal product development, will prepare fresh herbs for local restaurant deliveries, and will have a stall at the Kitchener Farmer’s Market every Wednesday morning.
This project gives the youth a chance to make a significant contribution to our community, and to be valued for doing that. It provides concrete opportunities for them to learn new skills, to work cooperatively, and to develop relationships and links in these work worlds. Colleen, a participant in the market gardening sector, says “Everyday for the rest of my life this job will help me. It will give me credibility and endless possibilities for new jobs.” Tim and Celena are encouraged by the range of opportunities and experiences they have already experienced, and hope that, someday, this will translate into that elusive job as nutritionist or even starting a small business.
This is what keeps Tyler motivated too. He looks forward to group trips to similar program in Toronto, to local restaurants and businesses and especially to the Stratford Chef School, something he has always dreamed about. And he will be supported all along the way by a very dedicated and knowledgeable staff in the Urban Agriculture tools project and in job counseling. His description of this creative venture says it all. “It’s awesome, amazing.”
