Middle-School Youth Flock to CitySprouts Summer Program

This summer?s crop of CitySprouts middle-school interns contained an exciting mix of new and familiar faces. New interns signed up to earn their first paycheck while cooking delicious meals and caring for their school garden. Returning veterans got to relive those experiences and find new ones with CitySprouts? revamped science and service-learning curriculum.

First-time intern and rising sixth-grader Ari joined the program to foster her already strong enthusiasm for cooking and gardening. ?I love to cook! I love to grow plants!? she wrote in her effusive application, adding that she has a ?green thumb for growing jalape?os.? Ari thrived during her internship in the Morse School garden as she learned to enhance her cooking skills with practical knowledge on making smart food choices. ?Today we went to Whole Foods and we learned how to spend $10 very wisely,? she said. She recommends other middle schoolers sign up for the CitySprouts program ?because you learn a lot, but it?s not like in-class learning. In class you?re just sitting there. At CitySprouts you get to move around.?

Rindge Avenue Upper Campus intern Kamron returned to CitySprouts for the third time this summer. Originally motivated to sign up by the $100 stipend that CitySprouts interns receive at the end of each summer, Kamron came back for the experience of learning in the garden. ?I have had a blast working with the kids and staff,? he said. ?I like the food we make. I like to try new things.? This fall, Kamron will begin eighth grade at Vassal Lane Upper School with three summers of work experience already under his belt.