For almost a decade, community organizing, beautifying public spaces, and bringing young leaders together have been central activities in Divine Islam’s life. Back in 2011, after an EF1 tornado hit North Minneapolis, Divine took on her first job at Project Sweetie...
During the sweltering summer of 2000, Mary Lee Vang, a 15-year-old high school student from the West Side of St. Paul, spent her days crafting meals over a hot stove. Each morning, her and a friend would collect food from neighborhood markets and bring it back to the...
Teachers truly don’t receive enough credit. For decades, maybe even centuries, teachers have not only taught young people how to read, write, and multiply, they have also served as community connectors. Over the past 25 years, Youth Farm has seen just how instrumental...
In the summer of 1999, Elsie Churchill, who had recently relocated to Minneapolis from Chicago, kept noticing a group of neighborhood youth working in an urban garden right below her 16th floor window in the Charles Horn Towers. As a seasoned community organizer, it...
Using the phrase “the Youth Farm family” is always intentional and St. Paul Project LEAD Eliza Thompson is a perfect example of that. When she was just eight years old she followed in her older sister’s footsteps and started attending Youth Farm programming. Not only...
A three sport athlete, a dancer, a student, and a leader. These are just some of the words that can be used to describe Dani Butler. On top of her already busy schedule, Dani is also taking on her first year as a Project LEAD at Youth Farm. After being a part of the...
A few weeks ago our Northside team had the opportunity to participate in a powerful event at The Story Garden in the Folwell neighborhood of North Minneapolis. The event, called Let the Water Speak, was co-hosted by Dani Tietjen from the Folwell Neighborhood...
So many of the young people involved at Youth Farm have grown up before our eyes. Saint Paul Project LEAD Kaylynn Braun is one of them. Now a sophomore at Humboldt High School, Kaylynn has been part of the Youth Farm Family for over five years, first getting involved...
“Youth are everywhere, they will always be around, and they will always need leaders to help guide them. That’s why the work we do at Youth Farm is so important.” We couldn’t agree more with these words from Northside Project LEAD Michael Seye, who has time and again...
First of all, we would like to send a huge thank you to everyone who made our 6th annual Taste of the Farm dinner possible! From our restaurant partners to our volunteers to our guests, what we do at Youth Farm would not be possible without all of you. This...
