Jaclyne’s Story

Jaclyne Jandro, Market Garden Program Director

Then…

Nine years ago three of us sat in a cold office chipping away at plans to run a summer youth program–David from Conservation, along with Summer and me from Market Garden. There were no year-round Cook Fresh employees. In the Market Garden program, we ran a one-acre farm, had a 45-member CSA, went to farmers markets every week in the fall, employed about 18 youth interns, and led field trips and a volunteer program with just the two of us. We had two vans to run the program, one with doors that filled with water and sloshed around when it rained. All of our tools were stored in a tiny basement room beneath First Lutheran Church. In my first year we had no walk-behind tractor, just a broad-fork and our own muscles. We worked hard and grew amazing food but our reach into the community didn’t extend far beyond our interns.

Jaclyne with youth interns at the garden outside the old office located on Maria Ave.

Now…

It feels like so many far-off dreams that we had nine years ago have come true! Today an enthusiastic year-round staff of 17 sit around a table and discuss how we can better support the lives and needs of young people. We’ve dedicated our time and energy to uplifting the youth, their voices, and their needs. It’s been amazing to see how much the youth grow and thrive when given the space and platform. We now have ten youth in Crew Lead positions (a transition to staff position) and have had four youth alumni on staff. Our Youth Council is now truly youth-led by a youth leadership team and youth voice leads all that we do.

Working in the Rivoli hoop house in 2019, shortly after it was first constructed.

A few ways our impact has grown in the Market Garden program:

• We now employ close to 30 interns.
• About half of the food we grew this year went to the CLUES food shelf, bringing fresh healthy food into this community.
• We have a culturally-specific farmer program where we pay farmers to grow food on our land and run workshops with the youth to teach them their farming stories and skills and about the crops they grow.
• We have a Children’s Garden where:
  • Groups come weekly for Storytime in the Garden, a partnership with the Saint Paul Public Library.
  • About 400 children engaged this year during field trips.
• Our volunteer program has become more robust, hosting 607 volunteers.
• This year we began stewarding two new community gardens, bringing our total to 4 East Side Community Garden Space serving around 150 families.
• We now have youth-led garden beds where advanced interns get to grow their own produce
• The Rivoli Bluff Farm and Restoration Site has changed from a grassy, overgrown, former snow dump site to a thriving farm and restoration site with a hoop house, barn, and three shipping containers (two with vibrant murals) for storage
• Extensive partnerships and opportunities for our youth and staff
• Staff are now earning fair wages and have the space in their positions to learn and grow and take care of themselves. This has increased our staff retention greatly, and allowed us to cultivate the deep relationships with each other, our youth, and our community that are necessary to do this work well.

Jacylne did eventually get that tractor!

The most valuable seed that Urban Roots and I have planted, grown, and harvested is:

1. The Children’s Garden and the youth-led beds at the Rivoli Bluff Farm and Restoration Site. Both of these were a dream for a long time, born out of seeing that when we are a production garden, there sometimes wasn’t room for whimsy, play, and ownership from young people. These things are so important in order for young people to develop a relationship with their food and the land. Over the last years I’ve seen the design, space, and programming become realities. Hundreds of St. Paul kids get to experience the Children’s Garden each summer, through Storytime in the Garden, weekly partnerships and field trips. All of our advanced interns get to steward a 10’x10’ plot or “youth-led bed” where they select the seeds, make their garden design, plant, and care for the space.  These two spaces are where some of the most magic happens on the farm.
2. Being one of the advocates for youth voice and empowerment in Youth Council and our programming. Seeing the transformation of youth being participants in our program to youth driving everything we do.
3. The changes I’ve seen at Urban Roots have been so grassroots; they’ve all come about as a result of dreams, hard work, and community support. And they all started because youth, staff, or community members advocated for themselves, and somebody asked questions or really listened to what they had to say.

In short, during my years at Urban Roots, I’ve seen the seeds of dreams, hard work, and community support get planted and flourish, and I’m so excited to see them continue to grow in the future.

-Jaclyne Jandro, Market Garden Program Director

Washing produce with market garden interns.