City Fruit partners with local youth programs with the goals of reconnecting youth to the power of their local environment and empowering youth to strengthen their relationships with our local food systems.
Urban Fruit Guardians (UFG)
Last year, we piloted a summer-camp style education program for youth (grades 1-5) that took place in Seattle orchards and supported learning in food justice and orchard education. We’re looking to continue and grow this program in 2023 and are seeking youth groups and school classes that would be interested in lessons in orchard education that could be adapted to the classroom or group interests. The lesson plans developed under our Urban Fruit Guardians (UFG) program will be available for free download once finalized! To learn more about the program and register your youth or youth cohort, please email [email protected].
Environmental education and youth mentorship partners
Young-Women Empowered — GROW
Neighborhood House High Point — STUDIO
Danny Woo Community Garden — WILD
City of Seattle — SYEP program
Seattle Parks and Recreation Urban Food Systems
North Seattle Boys and Girls Club
Green Plate Special
South Park Garden Squad
Atlantic Street Family Center
Rainier Beach Community Center
Queen Anne Elementary School
Highland Park Elementary School
Partnership and Programming
Youth programming is centered around supporting existing youth and food justice programs. The programming consists of experiential learning activities with each of our program partners throughout the year. City Fruit staff will collaboratively build an experience customized to needs identified by partners within the local community. Depending on the season, students learn about the issues of our urban orchard including orchard stewardship, human impact on the environment, cooking & nutrition, food security, and even GIS mapping.
Youth Employment
In addition to educational programming, City Fruit is committed to building a sustainable path to employment. City Fruit currently participates in the Seattle Youth Employment Program (SYEP), the Youth Employment & Service Learning (YESL) program, and the Teens in Public Service (TIPS) program. Young adults can apply to participate as lead harvesters and learn how to become a local urban food leader as part of the Great Seattle Fruit Harvest. Interested individuals should inquire and apply on the SYEP, YESL, and TIPS programs sites.