gofm’s Young Gardeners program

Galveston's Own Farmers Market is proud to offer the Young Gardeners Program! This program brings the benefits of growing food, eating healthy, being outdoors and working collectively to local children, one school at a time.

Our mission is to cultivate a community of healthy and happy young people by encouraging them to put their hands in the dirt, eat well, and learn the transformative power of growing their own food.

Interested in having your child join GOFM’s Young Gardeners Program? Kids in 3rd grade or higher can be a part of YGP! If they enrolled in a GISD Campus listed below, you can sign up through GISD’s After School Programs ACE or TOR! Learn more about GISD’s After School Programs here>

what & Why?

GOFM’s Young Gardeners Program (YGP) integrates high-production gardens & advanced curriculum with the after-school programming at GISD schools. With the support of community volunteers, GISD administration & staff, local families and our enthusiastic students, we send children home with food nearly every week & educate them in every step of garden stewardship.

In 2017, YGP founder Nan Wilson saw a need to address childhood obesity, dietary health & food insecurity in the Galveston community. She had an idea that combined her passion for gardening, people, and the power of individuals to make real difference in the world and brought it to Galveston's Own Farmer's Market. Nan believed that the island’s overall health could be transformed by increasing consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and improving food literacy among the island’s youth; by embedding a program in the afterschool program, the initiative would strategically target a majority underserved student population most vulnerable to food insecurity & poor dietary health.

GOFM’s Young Gardeners Program empowers young people through the cultivation of a keener sense of self & their own sovereignty, by demonstrating the importance of working with others towards a common goal, through gaining practical life skills like the ability to grow food & cook nourishing meals, and the feeling of pride that comes from sharing that food with others.

when & Where?

The Young Gardeners Program is at the following GISD schools:

YGP sessions take place on weekdays after-school at each school site while school is in session.

See the Locations on a Map

Nan Wilson, former Young Gardeners Program Director & a former member of Galveston's Own Farmers Market Board of Directors. — Nan Wilson, former member of Galveston's Own Farmers Market Board of Directors & founder of the Young Gardeners Program.

How to be a YGP Volunteer

There are various ways to help with the Young Gardeners program--take a look at these 3 main positions and the available times you can volunteer, then sign up using the form below!