The Food Project: Seed Crew

Seed Crew, formerly known as Summer Youth Program or SYP, is a seven week summer opportunity for youth to grow produce on urban and suburban farms while developing civic engagement and teamwork skills in a diverse setting.

Seed Crew hires around 72 high school youth from diverse cultural, racial, economic, and geographic backgrounds to work on our urban and suburban farms in Lincoln, Boston, and on the North Shore. During the summer, youth work together to grow vegetables sustainably and distribute thousands of pounds of produce while developing important leadership, teamwork, diversity, and civic participation skills.

After working on our farms each morning, Seed Crew youth spend many afternoons participating in workshops that address a variety of issues, including sustainable agriculture, food access, social justice, or time in reflection. They also spend one day a week at a local hunger relief organization preparing and serving the produce that they have grown. Youth in Seed Crew are held to high standards of performance and behavior and earn a biweekly stipend for their work.