Evaluation of a food justice and youth development program

Students for Service’s (SFS) Teens for Food Justice is a NYC-based program that brings together teen volunteers to build and manage hydroponic farms that grow food for families in underserved, food-desert communities. In 2013, SFS launched this program at the New Beginnings Charter School (NBCS) in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and intends to expand in coming years to other schools across NYC. The Capstone team piloted surveys to teen volunteers, students at NBCS, and families who attend community events to collect data that will inform program development and delivery. The team also created a set of survey tools, analyzed survey results, and conducted an environmental scan to assess how similar organizations are evaluating their work. The team’s final report outlined recommendations for how SFS can regularly collect data to inform their program planning and decision making.