Berkeley Youth Alternatives Garden Program

Our Youth Garden Program engages youth from low resource communities in a paid garden internship, health & nutrition education, cooking, counseling & academic support.

The Problem

Our youth face many poverty and social oppression related barriers in life, and are at risk for truancy, teen pregnancy, gun violence and incarceration. They do not have positive activities to engage in after school and during the Summer, and do not have the money to make ends meet. Our youth and families also struggle with food access related chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes. We believe that poverty should not have to mean that families cannot have access to healthy food, and that youth need to be involved in positive activities and learn job skills. The garden programs address these and other health inequities by involving youth in growing food for their families and communities. The Garden Internships are paid, so youth earn much needed money to spend on food, clothing and phone bills. We help them open bank accounts, and help to build their skills around keeping a job and managing money at a young age.

Our Solution

Through our Youth Garden Program, BYA hires teenagers and young adults ages 15-20 to grow fresh food in two urban garden lots, the 1/2 acre Bancroft Community Garden and the 1/6 acre BYA Community Orchard. The paid Youth Garden internships are the “hook” to get youth to participate in BYA daily. Then, as we build rapport and relationships, we are able to provide critical “wrap around” services to support them in all aspects of their lives. Our holistic approach is what makes us unique, we collaborate with counselors, teachers, parents, probation officers and case managers to ensure that each of our youth garden Interns gets the full spectrum of support they need. Through our garden, we are making fresh food accessible for people in neighborhoods in which there are not fresh food markets, and for families who do not always have money for fresh organic produce. We also hope to raise awareness about health through hands on experiences, and by providing opportunities for our youth to cook and eat healthy, delicious food!

Our Story & Why You Should Support Us

Garden Manager: Kim Allen is the Garden Program Manager at Berkeley Youth Alternatives. Kim supervises paid youth interns in the garden year round and manages over ½ acre of production gardens in West Berkeley. She engages youth in all garden activities while developing and teaching curriculum addressing critical life issues such as: employment skills, social justice, teamwork, stress-management, leadership skills, ecology and nutrition. Kim has a passion for using gardens as a means of promoting a sense of wonder, empowerment, self-discovery, and physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Over the past ten years, Kim has served as an environmental and outdoor educator, integrating gardening and natural cycles into the growth, development, and learning of people of all ages, from pre-school to adults. She has done this work through various organizations, including East Bay Conservation Corps, Hidden Villa Farm and Wilderness Preserve, and Naturalists at Large. She serves as an active member of the Advisory Council for Rooted in Community, a national youth empowerment and food justice organization. Kim has a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Oberlin College and a Certificate in Ecological Horticulture from the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at UC Santa Cruz. When not growing youth and food, Kim enjoys lacrosse, ultimate Frisbee, bike commuting, handicrafts, and holding her new baby nephew. Garden Youth:Andranee Nabors: My name is Andranee Nabors, and I am a 16 year old High School sophomore at Berkeley High. I am a really good student, and have a 3.5 GPA. When I get older, I want to be a lawyer because I like to advocate and I could make good money doing that. To give back to my community, I want to help bring justice to those who do not get it. I live with my Mom and my older brother DeAndre in East Oakland, where somebody is always getting shot and there are many memorials laid out for people on the sidewalks. For the last three years, I have been involved in after school programs at Berkeley Youth Alternatives (BYA), a local youth and family center located in West Berkeley.My internship with BYA teaches me how to landscape two Berkeley Parks, and how to grow fresh produce for the community in the BYA Urban Farm. In addition to earning money at BYA, I am gaining experience and learning about myself and others as we work in teams. I like seeing other organizations doing work in Food Justice because Food Justice means giving healthy food to people who would not have access to it any other way.–AN, 16

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