The South Plains Food Bank has a five and a half acre farm that has over 45 varieties of produce. They use this plot of land as a part of the GRUB (Growing Recruits for Urban Business) Program. Lynn Weir, Director of the Farm Orchard and GRUB Division of the the South Plains Food Bank said this program helps at risk youth of Lubbock by giving them an opportunity to learn different skills.
“We focus on three areas, educational awareness, life skills and job awareness,” Weir said. “We show these youth the importance of having to finish high school. Then we teach them life skills and then we actually have people come out here and teach them how to interview and write a resume.”
Work includes garden planning, soil preparation, maintaining the irrigation system planting seeds and young plants, nurturing, harvesting and marketing the produce. Weir said this program helps kids learn the basics of business while gaining an appreciation for agriculture.
The kids produce and market a value-added product, giving them experience in marketing and small business operations. Kids get to see this through from start to finish. This program helps to teach and inspire kids who need an extra push.
“I just think that it has opening a whole new world for them agriculture wise,” Weir said. “There’s so many kids that when they started at 10, they would have never told you they were going to college. I think we are just showing them a new world they never imagined they could be a part of.”
