The Regional Environmental Council’s programs focus on building an equitable and sustainable local food system by connecting urban and rural sectors, developing entrepreneurial food projects at the grassroots level, investing in youth development, education, and employment, and supporting urban agriculture and community gardening.
Urban Gardens Resources of Worcester (UGROW) was established in 1995. This program supports a network of 80+ community and school gardens. The network includes 700 gardeners who are provided with free resources like: seeds and seedlings, compost, soil testing, bed building/repair, training, and networking opportunities. More than 3,000 students in Worcester participate in hands-on garden programming which is combined with outreach efforts to connect parents with food resources including SNAP and HIP.
REC Community and Mobile Markets was established in 2008. This program works to increase access to affordable food from local farms for residents of Worcester County communities experiencing high rates of food insecurity and poverty. We operate two traditional farmers markets and mobile market locations in the summer and fall, an online pre-order program, and indoor markets through winter. More than 85% of sales at our markets are made using food subsidy programs making local produce accessible and affordable for Worcester residents all year long.
Youth Growing Organics in Worcester (YouthGROW) was established in 2003. YouthGROW is a year-round youth development and urban agriculture employment program for teens based on 3 urban farms in Worcester, serving 40 youth, from under-resourced neighborhoods, annually. YouthGROW takes a holistic approach to supporting participants with a focus on youth leadership, participatory program design, and teaching life skills. Youth plant and harvest organic produce that is sold affordably through REC’s Mobile Markets; taken home by participants, and donated to food pantries. Farm work is done in conjunction with our “PLUS” curriculum covering: Professional Development, Life Skills, Urban Agriculture, and Social Justice.
(Originally published by Mass Food System Collaborative)