Growing More Than Food: Youth Programming at Baton Roots

Since breaking ground in 2019, Baton Roots Community Farm has been dedicated to educating our community about food. Our programs prepare youth and adults to grow food at home and community gardens, as well as provide entry into agriculture and agroforestry business as a possible career path. One of the ways we do this is through Hustle & Grow, a youth internship program based at our main farm site at BREC's Howell Community Park.

We asked Baton Roots Associate Director for Agroforestry Mitchell Provensal to talk about the past present and future of Hustle & Grow youth farming education.

Q: What is Hustle & Grow?

Hustle & Grow is a youth urban agriculture education program that we host at Baton Roots Community Farm for students ages 14-18 to come out to the farm [at BREC's Howell Community Park] and learn about agriculture, work with us on the farm, and grow food for themselves in their community.

We offer the program in spring, summer, and fall. During the spring and fall, students meet after school once a week for 10 weeks. In the summer, students meet twice a week for 6 weeks.

We focus on increasing knowledge about specialty crops- what they are, how to grow them, and how young people can explore agricultural entrepreneurship as a possible career path.

The age of farmers keeps going up, so we need young people to get into the food system as a career.

Q: What is a typical day like for Hustle & Grow interns?

This semester, students would get to the farm right around 3:30 after school time. We start with a warm-up activity where students get to know each other and build trust and communication as a team. After that, we do a quick lesson on an agriculture related topic, whether it's fertilizer or tools or harvesting. Then we'll go our to the field and do farm-work and get some hands-on experience.

Outside of our usual programming, students run the produce distribution table at community events. This gives them an opportunity to practice communicating with community members about the crops, our growing methods, and their role as youth farmers with Baton Roots. While our produce distribution tables are donation-based (meaning no one is ever turned away for lack of funds), operating the table provides essential opportunity for students to hone their entrepreneurial and communication skills to support their future endeavors.

Q: What do young people gain from the program?

Hustle & Grow interns learn foundational skills in small-scale specialty crop farming and the communication/business skills necessary to run a market farming operation. Thanks to a grant from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, students also earn a small education award through their participation in the program.

Multiple students have told us that they think of themselves as shy or introverted and that they do not find it easy to connect with classmates or other young people. But when they get out on the farm and are working with other youth, connecting with nature, that they seem to open up more, or maybe feel more outgoing than they originally believed they could be. It is amazing to see students growth over semester working with them at the farm, to see them connecting with themselves, each other, and nature.

It is also exciting to see some of the students that would self-describe as shy run the produce table. They are so excited to interact with people at the event, to talk about the produce that they grew and talk about our practices on the farm. They really get into explaining the program and light up when talking about the food that they grow. It is a beautiful thing.

Q: What does Hustle & Grow or youth farming education at Baton Roots look like in the future?

In the immediate future, Hustle & Grow is recruiting for our spring 2026 cohort. If you or a young person you know is interested, they can apply here!

Baton Roots continues to engage youth in different ways. In the past, we have partnered directly with schools and agricultural science teachers to enhance their classroom education with practical garden experiences. We host field trips and workshops for schools, youth-serving organizations, and summer camps. We also work with The Walls Project's after school program, Culture Club, at Scotlandville High School.

Hustle & Grow is such an exciting program because it allows us to bring youth to the farm for an extended amount of time. They can see a larger scale of regenerative agriculture beyond what can happen at their school gardens, and we can really teach them about everything from starting seeds in the greenhouse to safely harvesting produce and preparing it for distribution using the wash/pack station at the farm.

In the future, it would be great to build out additional tiers of experience for young people who want to participate in Hustle & Grow over multiple semesters/years. We are working to build in more opportunities for youth leadership in both our educational programs and our farm/land management.

Q: How can young people and their families get involved with Baton Roots?

Young people ages 14-18 can apply here for the spring 2026 cohort of Hustle & Grow. And everyone in the community can join us at Sow Good Saturday, our no-cost monthly event which incorporates gardening, cooking, and movement for all! (see flier below)