In 2006, two youth and a business owner from Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn partnered with GrowNYC to create the first Youthmarket, an urban farmstand, selling fresh produce from local farms. The first local produce delivery showed up in a station wagon. Open on a weekly basis, and gaining in popularity, the Bed-Stuy site quickly outgrew that station wagon.
Youthmarkets were powered by GrowNYC’s Wholesale, providing a market for sales for mid-size farmers who, too large for our retail markets but too small to compete in the traditional wholesale marketplace, and disappearing at an alarming rate.
A robust curriculum, coupled with training, gave young New Yorkers the tools they needed to build work experience, relying on teamwork to solve problems, and ensuring smooth business operations. Youth participants learned business skills, managed inventory, and used concepts of supply and demand to inform inventory orders.
Youthmarkets were located in neighborhoods composed of majority families earning low and moderate-incomes. A majority of sites included a partner such as the local business improvement district, other nonprofits, libraries and hospitals. All sites promoted and accepted Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP EBT), Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), Health Bucks, and offered other incentives to remove barriers to food access.
GrowNYC operated 15 Youthmarkets, eventually transitioning this food access model into GrowNYC Farmstand, a seasonal market-style model aimed at increasing access to affordable fresh fruits, vegetables, and food staples, by leveraging the purchasing power of a wholesale distribution model.
Today, GrowNYC still trains young adults through its paid Workforce Development program and operates seasonal Farmstands located in 15 communities across the city to enhance equitable access and opportunities for healthy eating.