In this coming school year, we at Hudson Valley Seed will be partnering with the Newburgh after-school program to complement our current in-school offerings with Crop Shops, after-school student-run farm stands.

The Crop Shops allow us to expand students’ access to fresh foods beyond the school day, sending veggies and veggie knowledge home with their families at significantly lower prices than what would be available at a grocery store.

Students learn how to handle money, calculate change, interact with customers, explain about the produce they are selling, and cooperate with one another to successfully make sales. Our students are excited to use the knowledge that they have gained in garden lessons during the school day to educate customers on the nutrition, life cycles, and fun facts about vegetables being sold, and the different ways of preparing them in kid-friendly recipes.

We hope to continue increasing this access and to better serve our students outside of the school day, as well as share the gardens’ bounties and veggie knowledge with the communities in which we work.