Bloom Youth Project is a 7-month, paid internship adventure that uses Bloom Community Farm as its workspace. Bloom Youth come together to grow food, cook meals, and run a mobile market while learning about themselves, making friends, developing skills, working hard, giving back, and having fun.
We congratulate the 2019 crop of Bloom Youth interns on a successful season: Thank you Ismael, Maria Jose, Franco, Oscar, Emily, Priscilla, Abby, Paola, and Steven!
We asked the interns to reflect on food and community and they had some pretty beautiful things to say.
ABBY, what do you love most about our community?
I really love that our community is a kind, caring, and supportive system. I can rely on the community because of the safe place. Everyone here acts like a big family.
ISMAEL, what is your favorite food memory?
Posole is my favorite because my grandma made it before her death.
EMILY, what are you most excited to learn this year at Bloom Youth Project?
The most I’m excited to learn this year at BYP is to see the happy faces of people when we hand them good, quality food.
PRISCILLA, what is your favorite food memory?
My favorite food memory is when I went down to El Saladito, Sinaloa, Mexico. Our family made a bonfire to celebrate the new year down in Mexico. We had food that they grew in the garden as well as a cooked pig. Not all of the family came, but we all stuck together and had a fun time. We ate and rode horses throughout the night.
PAOLA, what is your favorite fruit or vegetable?
My favorite fruit is a cucumber because with some hot sauce and lime it’s delicious.
STEVEN, what do you love most about our community?
We get opportunities like this and are being able to help the community.
MARIA, whats your favorite food memory?
When we made pancakes for lunch. It was so fun working with the other interns and learning new recipes that I can also cook with my family at home.
FRANCO, what does community mean to you?
It means a group of people that work together and work with each other as a team.
OSCAR, what are you most excited to learn this year at Bloom Youth Project?
Learning how to grow and care about the vegetables.
Thanks too to the generous support of donors who made this tremendous growth possible.
Check out our stories below!