BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Teens can flex their culinary skills this summer with a paid program focusing on food justice and leadership.
The TurnUp Garden internship from the Northeast Brooklyn Housing Development Corp. teaches participants about the food system from “seed to shopping bag,” according to NEBHDCo community healthy food advocate Bianca Bockman.
Teens ages 13 through 18 will help grow and harvest vegetables at local community gardens, cook together, and get professional job training.
The program, which is in its third year, has a new track for “advance” participants, who will learn to be a peer mentor for those in the “beginner” cohort, Bockman said.
“This is an area where we see a lot of results of our failed food system, and where young people are heavily impacted by those results,” she added.
“The more they can learn now, the more they can contribute to make the system better in different ways.”
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Participants will set goals for their summer months, discussing community impact and power.
For those in the beginner track, the five weeks from Aug. 2 to Sept. 1 will cover working in a kitchen and garden, among other topics.
They’ll visit the TurnUp Garden at 152 Tompkins Ave. and NEBHDCo’s pantry garden on Throop Avenue, learning the difference between drip irrigation and hand watering, harvesting, issues around processed and seasonal foods, and how race and class operate within the food system.
The advance group, which begins on July 18 and ends on Sept. 1, will also cover the major themes of gardening, cooking, food justice, and job skills, but also focus on mentorship.
Participants can earn up to $500 during the beginner course and up to $1,500 for the advanced.
NEBHDCo. is also offering free community chef training sessions this summer for aspiring chefs ages 18 and over.
Applications for the TurnUp Garden internship are due by June 29, and teens can apply online or contact Bianca Bockman at bbockman@nebhdco.org or 718-453-9490 x229 for more information.
