Menlo Park Academy
The East Side Youth Garden is an experiential learning garden for low-income youth located in the “backyard” of East Side Neighborhood Services (ESNS). Created in 2001 as part of the ESNS Youth Department’s Upper Elementary program, the garden is also used by Menlo Park Academy, an alternative high school.
In 2012, the Youth Department launched Menlo VIBE, a free 2 hour Monday-Thursday after-school program for teens at Menlo Park Academy which promotes healthy food choices for the 30 regular attendees through daily snacks and weekly cooking classes. Teens at Menlo VIBE plan, plant, harvest, cook, and eat food from the garden.
We want to build on the successes of the East Side Youth Garden. By building two 20 ft by 20 ft raised beds, we would double the size of our gardening area. This would enhance educational opportunities for our youth, provide more produce to youth and their families, and allow youth to give back to their community by growing more food for the ESNS Food Stability Programs.