SYP Youth Share the Farm with their Families!

At the end of each Summer Youth Program, our youth participants host a Family Feast at the farm to share their experiences and celebrate the completion of 6-weeks of hard work with their loved ones. This year, in addition to telling stories and enjoying a pot-luck dinner, our SYP participants decided to put their families to the test in the Farm Olympics. After greeting their guests and giving farm tours, the games began. Each event in the Farm Olympics was designed and judged by SYP youth, including a team harvesting competition, plant identification contest, and a round of Farmily Feud (early on in the program, SYP participant Al'Mond began referring to his fellow participants and SYP leaders as a "farmily", it caught on pretty quickly!). We were excited how serious the friends and family members were about the seeing first-hand what the youth have been doing and learning. After the Farm Olympics, our guests enjoyed a wonderful spread of dishes prepared by the youth and their families. The youth were then individually recognized by their Team Leaders with an award reflecting their personal achievements and/or contributions to the >programs, as their loved ones looked on with pride. The youth then warmed the hearts of the staff as they each shared their favorite memories of the Summer Youth Program and revealed how much they would miss their farmily. While it is hard to see the program come to an end, each of the SYP participants are now eligible to apply for 6-week paid Fall and Spring Internships, and we have a feeling we will be spending a lot more time with the fantastic 2014 SYP group!