Goodwill, Self-Esteem Harvested In Community Garden Program

For troubled youths, sometimes the key to getting back on track is the opportunity to help something else grow and blossom.

With that in mind, Stuart Younkin, youth programs coordinator for Loudoun County's parks and recreation department, started a community garden project last year for teenagers. This summer, the program began harvesting its first crops: hundreds of pounds of potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, peppers, squash, zucchini, melons and beans, most of which are being donated to a food bank.

The farmers, ages 12 to 18, are drawn from three groups: juveniles ordered by a court to perform community service, youths from the juvenile detention center and students enrolled in an alternative high school program.

"These are kids that need some positive outlets," Younkin said. "I thought, 'Well, gardening's a great thing. It's a great hobby, a great stress reliever. You can grow your own food, basically.' "

Younkin said he has watched teenagers sort canned food at a food bank and was always struck by how many of them hadn't even heard of some of the foods they were handling, such as sauerkraut.

"A lot of them, they're the microwave generation," he said. "I thought, 'Here's a way to help them find out where their foods are coming from.' "

In July, his group's efforts produced more than 300 pounds of food.

The crops are grown on a 3,000-square-foot plot at Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, south of Leesburg. The program, funded by the parks department and grant money, has cost about $1,500, with $250 going toward installing 14-foot-high fencing to keep out deer, Younkin said.

About 10 youths are participating, a number that will increase after school starts because the alternative high school program will be referring more students then, Younkin said.

The high school program, run by the Loudoun Department of Family Services and called the Young Adults Project, enrolls students who have to work jobs that conflict with regular class hours, who have been placed on long-term suspension or who would benefit from non-traditional instruction. They perform community service as part of their curriculum.

Bonnie Inman, executive director of Loudoun Interfaith Relief, which has been receiving donations from the garden, said the added food has been invaluable. Demand at the food bank typically increases in the summer because subsidized school lunch programs aren't running, she said, and the economic downturn has made it tough to keep the food bank stocked.

When people arrive there and see fresh, locally grown produce, they are pleasantly surprised, Inman said.

"People are so excited about getting fresh vegetables," Inman said. "I mean, it's hard to believe."

Although the bulk of the food gets donated, Younkin said he tries to give the teenagers a little something to take home, a reward for a job well done that they can show to their family and friends.

He recalled one 15-year-old girl from the juvenile detention center who succeeded in growing green beans, an experience that had a noticeable affect on her self-esteem.

"She got her first trip home, a weekend pass," Younkin said. "She just wanted to take a handful of green beans home to show her mom. It was really kind of touching. This was a girl who had quite a few issues she's been trying to deal with . . . and here is our simple little garden, and it seems to have a positive effect on her."