Heavy metal music blasted in the background as teenagers skipped around Marion Polk Food Share’s Youth Farm during a morning harvest.

The 33 students split into groups to prepare sheet-pan pizza with tomato sauce made from tomatoes grown on the farm, while others picked peppers, eggplants and squash.

On a harvest day in August, they were having fun while participating in something bigger than themselves — producing food for people in need. 

The Youth Farm is a leadership and empowerment program for teens ages 13 to 18. Summertime brings the most activity to the farm, with teens busy supplying the produce for Food Share’s Farm Share Rx program.

Eggplants, beans, tomatoes and more fill weekly prescribed boxes of vegetables for the program. Participating clinicians in Salem, Grand Ronde and Santiam write prescriptions for individuals whose health would benefit from a daily dose of vegetables, usually low-income families or those at risk of diet-related illnesses. 

This year marks four years since farm and garden manager Ava Ryan began overseeing the Youth Farm. She said that this year has been the most successful, with the farm supplying produce for 120 families through Farm Share Rx, a 20% increase from last year.

This year, Farm Share Rx added Santiam Hospital and clinics in the Santiam Canyon to its list of providers. They now deliver produce to four clinics with a large share of low-income patients, including Lancaster Family Health Center, Northwest Human Services’ West Salem clinic and the Grand Ronde Health and Wellness Center.

“Whether it’s diabetes or just obesity or heart disease or cancer, all of these different things — even depression can be improved by more fresh vegetables in your diet,” Ryan said.

Skills and a first paycheck

Students who participate in the Youth Farm say they leave each season with agricultural and cooking knowledge, skills like perseverance and leadership, and sometimes even veggies to bring home.

“For a lot of them, this is their first paycheck ever,” Ryan said. “We’ve coached a lot of people into how to open a bank account.” 

What’s especially rewarding for Ryan and other Youth Farm staff is the opportunity to provide students with programming that relates to their interests.

“When you’re out in the field chatting with them, we hear things we’re like ‘Oh, you’re really interested in this. Like you’re super into plant genetics, or whatever it is,” Ryan said.

Based on student interests, the Youth Farm staff and peer leaders will organize activities to meet those needs. Sometimes it’s an art project in the afternoons, where students paint murals on the sides of old metal storage bins. Other times, it’s a lesson about financial literacy or a niche agricultural concept like gene expression. 

Frank McBride, a junior, has been involved with the Youth Farm for three years and now serves as a crew leader.

“I really like the feeling of accomplishment and getting things done, and then also the whole social part,” he said.

McBride started a band this year with other Youth Farm kids. “Gunge Tee” hasn’t played any shows yet, but McBride plays the drums, and he said it’s been a great outlet for him.

McBride and other peer leaders participate in an intensive training each February, where students spend six weeks learning skills like task delegation, compassionate communication and identifying feelings and needs.

They also build agricultural and business skills as they plan for the farm and work on crop plans or special projects. One project the crew picked for this summer is giant pumpkins, which “are getting bigger every time I look at them,” Ryan said.

“We try to give them as much autonomy in the summer as possible,” Ryan said. “‘What do we need to harvest? What are we going to mow in? What needs weeding? What’s our highest priority?’ We sit down and we talk about all of those things on Monday with them and then from that, they decide what the crew is going to do for the week.”

McBride said being involved with Youth Farm has helped his leadership skills transfer over to other parts of his life.

“At my church, I work with the kids, and working here has definitely taught me how to lead a large group of people,” he said. “I’ve definitely gained confidence from working here, too.”

After he graduates in 2027, he plans to go into the trades. 

“Probably either doing more agriculture stuff, or be a carpenter,” he said.

McBride isn’t the only Youth Farm participant with a plan after high school. Junior Ely, 15, wants to be a chef after graduation. Finley Roth, 17, is bouncing a few ideas around, but is considering a career in psychology. Cash Crawford, 16, just started a coursework path at North Salem High School focused on behavioral health and human services.

“It’s helped me build relationships and work better with other people,” Crawford said. “You can feel super silly at the farm, but also professional and respectful.”

The farm is celebrating a bountiful harvest this year, serving more families than ever, but Ryan still has bigger dreams for what the Youth Farm can achieve. She wants to ensure that the staff and the farm can meet the needs of the community before expanding further. 

“The need is there. We just have a really lean staff,” Ryan said. “A farm this size would probably have 10 full-time staff.”

The Youth Farm has three full-time and two seasonal staff members in addition to about 30 youth who staff the farm each summer. Ryan said that a six-acre farm, such as the Youth Farm, would usually have 10 full-time staff.

One of Ryan’s favorite memories of working with the kids is from an end-of-year tradition in which each student gets to write a goodbye note on the walls of the bathroom.

Many students write their farewell notes in large, sprawling text, but Ryan’s favorite is much smaller, taking up just about an inch in an inconspicuous spot.

“In ballpoint pen next to the sink, it just says ‘I feel at home here.’ And then somebody else came by and drew a little house next to it,” Ryan said. “It warms my heart like nothing else.”

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the number of full-time staff at the Youth Farm. There are three full-time staff members and two seasonal workers. The article has also been updated to reflect that there are several clinics participating in the Farm Share Rx program in the Santiam Canyon area. Salem Reporter apologizes for the error.

Contact reporter Mirandah Davis-Powell: [email protected].

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