By : Oliver Duffer!
Concordia Place is located at 3300 N. Whipple right in the middle of the Avondale
neighborhood. Concordia Place is for kids of all ages to go and have a place just to have fun and learn. One of the programs for the teens is the Farmers Market that they hold every year. The Farmers market is a fun educational program to help educate the teens and the people in the community about what they’re putting in their body, where it comes from and what is in the food that they consume. Eating non-organic food could be very harmful because of all the preservatives and pesticides in the food. So that is why Concordia Place started a program for teens to learn about gardening and the food itself and about all the health benefits you get from eating healthy and organic foods.
From seed to plant!
I sat down with a few teens to discuss the long process that they went through to get where they are today. I found out that everything they make, from soap to jams, is all organic and all homemade! Quinn talked to me first about the main focus of the farmer’s market at Concordia Place.
Quinn a program participant – “Teaching people in the Avondale area and also to get people more aware about buying locally and organic which helps vendors and helps the community. Also teaches people about what they‘re putting in their bodies.”
My last question for Quinn and Abraham, two of the program participants that I talked to, was what do you get out of working on the farmer’s market and the garden? They both quickly responded with “Responsibility!” It takes a lot of effort to manage a garden, but in the end it benefits everyone because now they are a lot more conscious about what they are putting into
their body.
Homemade soaps smell so good!
On my tour of Concordia Place we stopped in the room where some teens were packaging organic soap. During the spring they created Lavender, Rosemary and Lemongrass soap bars.
This got me thinking that if you eat organic you are putting good food in your body and if you use organic soap you are putting good oils on your body. WIN WIN!
My last stop on the tour was down in the lobby where they had to downsize the farmer’s market due to heavy rain and cold weather. But even though the weather outside was not delightful the food inside was! From Apples to peppers to cider to soap, this teen-run farmers market had
you covered. We always tend to look over the food we are buying, but if you stop in just to look around or maybe to buy some food you will surely find out that the food produced by these teens were made with a lot of thought and care.
After speaking with a few teens that have been with the program a lot longer they said, “Working in the garden is interesting. You learn a lot and it’s such a great experience.” I also sat down with one of the staff members to get a little more information on how many attendees they have for past farmer markets and what they got out of being a part of this program.
Roughly 500 customers every summer and fall for the past few years so 1,000 costumers a year! And it keeps growing and growing.
Flora Calabrese, Community Programs Manager, started to tell me more about the program itself, “everyone in the program has been so supportive. Over 20 different middle school and high school kids have joined in to help.”
I asked Flora; what do you get out of working with the kids in the garden?
“Really it’s all about enjoying the teens learning about the food that they are putting in their bodies and where it’s coming from. Seeing the teens connect to the food source and getting to know organic food, how it does taste better and it’s also healthy. It’s about watching the kids become entrepreneurs, but even more so social entrepreneurs. Also, teens just bring a positive presence to the garden and the program.”
So from seed to plant the food and teens grow and sprout into amazing food and intelligent
individuals.
Check out more information on Concordia Place: http://www.concordiaplace.org/
Concordia Place is located at 3300 N. Whipple right in the middle of the Avondale
neighborhood. Concordia Place is for kids of all ages to go and have a place just to have fun and learn. One of the programs for the teens is the Farmers Market that they hold every year. The Farmers market is a fun educational program to help educate the teens and the people in the community about what they’re putting in their body, where it comes from and what is in the food that they consume. Eating non-organic food could be very harmful because of all the preservatives and pesticides in the food. So that is why Concordia Place started a program for teens to learn about gardening and the food itself and about all the health benefits you get from eating healthy and organic foods.
From seed to plant!
I sat down with a few teens to discuss the long process that they went through to get where they are today. I found out that everything they make, from soap to jams, is all organic and all homemade! Quinn talked to me first about the main focus of the farmer’s market at Concordia Place.
Quinn a program participant – “Teaching people in the Avondale area and also to get people more aware about buying locally and organic which helps vendors and helps the community. Also teaches people about what they‘re putting in their bodies.”
My last question for Quinn and Abraham, two of the program participants that I talked to, was what do you get out of working on the farmer’s market and the garden? They both quickly responded with “Responsibility!” It takes a lot of effort to manage a garden, but in the end it benefits everyone because now they are a lot more conscious about what they are putting into
their body.
Homemade soaps smell so good!
On my tour of Concordia Place we stopped in the room where some teens were packaging organic soap. During the spring they created Lavender, Rosemary and Lemongrass soap bars.
This got me thinking that if you eat organic you are putting good food in your body and if you use organic soap you are putting good oils on your body. WIN WIN!
My last stop on the tour was down in the lobby where they had to downsize the farmer’s market due to heavy rain and cold weather. But even though the weather outside was not delightful the food inside was! From Apples to peppers to cider to soap, this teen-run farmers market had
you covered. We always tend to look over the food we are buying, but if you stop in just to look around or maybe to buy some food you will surely find out that the food produced by these teens were made with a lot of thought and care.
After speaking with a few teens that have been with the program a lot longer they said, “Working in the garden is interesting. You learn a lot and it’s such a great experience.” I also sat down with one of the staff members to get a little more information on how many attendees they have for past farmer markets and what they got out of being a part of this program.
Roughly 500 customers every summer and fall for the past few years so 1,000 costumers a year! And it keeps growing and growing.
Flora Calabrese, Community Programs Manager, started to tell me more about the program itself, “everyone in the program has been so supportive. Over 20 different middle school and high school kids have joined in to help.”
I asked Flora; what do you get out of working with the kids in the garden?
“Really it’s all about enjoying the teens learning about the food that they are putting in their bodies and where it’s coming from. Seeing the teens connect to the food source and getting to know organic food, how it does taste better and it’s also healthy. It’s about watching the kids become entrepreneurs, but even more so social entrepreneurs. Also, teens just bring a positive presence to the garden and the program.”
So from seed to plant the food and teens grow and sprout into amazing food and intelligent
individuals.
Check out more information on Concordia Place: http://www.concordiaplace.org/
