Mendez Middle School

Our primary goal is to educate the community on healthy food choices and how to produce healthy food as cost effectively as possible. Mendez Middle School is located in the Dove Springs Community, which has the highest obesity rate in the City of Austin. The area has no farmer's market in surrounding neighborhoods, and the area is a food desert, lacking adequate access to grocery stores for residents. The second goal of the garden is to build a community hub where Mendez youth, parents, and school staff can work together to achieve a common goal, while in turn bridging communication gaps and creating opportunities for quality mentorship. Food produced from the youth garden will be used in Club cooking programs, distributed to families of Club youth, and donated to the Sustainable Food Center, a major partner in establishing the garden. A third goal of the garden is to bridge the science and Lifeskills classrooms with after Club programs.

This program is supported by Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area.