This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're joined by Jennifer Anderson, executive director for Trellis For Tomorrow.
Trellis For Tomorrow is a nonprofit organization in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, that works toward building sustainable communities with a focus on food justice and teaching community members how to garden and grow their own produce.
"The work that we do is really about helping people to lead and feed themselves," said Anderson. "So, it's about how we can help communities to be more self-sustainable, particularly around growing food and eating healthy and more nutritiously."
The organization accomplishes this work through several programs, all of which are designed around growing and donating food.
Its SEED Skills program, for ages 12-18, centers on teaching youths how to manage a garden and grow and harvest organic produce. Program participants are paid for the work in multiple community gardens, and their harvest is distributed within the surrounding communities.
While the kids leave the program with gardening skills, they also come away with leadership and communication skills, which Trellis For Tomorrow emphasizes in each of its programs.
"Using agriculture as both a medium for life skills, building life skills, you know, you're there literally showing up every day and getting to work," said Anderson.
Many of the SEED Skills participants then go on to Trellis For Tomorrow's GROW Careers program for ages 18-26. GROW participants are placed in paid internships at local nonprofits and social impact businesses where they can further develop their skills and build their resumes.
Trellis For Tomorrow also provides nearby communities with locally and sustainably grown produce through its Food For All program.
The organization works with community members and partner organizations to start up and maintain gardens that are tended by volunteers.
The program has 27 grow sites across five counties and donates at least 50% of its harvest to area food banks, though for many of the grow sites, that number is closer to 95% or 98%. Anderson estimates that 35,000-45,000 pounds of produce is donated every year through the program.
There's something about gardening and providing food to one's community that people find rewarding and enjoyable, Anderson said.
"There's a big part of that program that is community building," she said. "These are all different types of gardens, but when you have groups of people coming together and meeting in the garden, it's an equalizer, right? Everybody's excited about being there."
You can find more information on the Lancaster Farming story discussed in the beginning of this episode here:
Majority of Farm Families Struggle With Access to Child Care, According to Survey
