Job Training Programs serves a dual need: to improve the long-term health outcomes for underserved youth by providing rewarding and hands-on garden and kitchen-based education.
Our goal is to provide young people who face barriers to entering the workforce with practical tools and work experience to better prepare them for future employment and financial self-sufficiency. Our job training programs are generally only open to San Francisco residents. Applications for all programs and positions will be posted on our Career Page as they open.
Our Programs
Sprout Out!
An after-school job-training program for San Francisco high-school students, with two, semester long cohorts each year. Youth develop their communication, time-management, conflict resolution, personal responsibility, and adaptability skills while learning to cook, garden, and develop products (natural plant-dyed textiles, medicinal salves) to sell at local farmers’ markets. Applications are released around the start of each semester.
Summer Sprouts
An intensive three-week part-time summer job for high-school students. Youth follow a culinary school model to become certified to work in commercial kitchens while also learning how to ecologically grow nutritious food and medicinal herbs. Youth also work on a line of value-added products which are then sold at local farmers’ markets. Applications are released early each spring.
Sprouting Leaders
A six-week paid summer internship for San Francisco youth ages 15 - 18. This programs is ideal for students looking to improve their leadership skills and effect positive change in their communities through food justice, ecological gardening, and cooking. Applications are released early each spring.
Program Assistants
A part-time, temporary position for San Francisco youth 18-24 to refine their work readiness skills (communication, teamwork, leadership, work ethic, and problem-solving), explore different career paths (in education, agriculture, and the culinary arts), and begin building a professional network.
“I was the type of person who stayed in my room on my phone. Then I got a job here. There’s always something new to do. One day greenhouse, next day soil. Or like making lip balm: We grow flowers, dry the petals, add oil, let it soak, and then take it to our solar-powered kitchen and melt it with beeswax from our bees. Then we sell it. It’s organic, so people like it and want to know how we made it. We have strong, trustworthy friendships here. We grow closer in this garden. It’s cool. ”
“I’m gonna be honest. Getting sober is challenging. A lot of my peers haven’t gotten clean, but I’m lucky. This is a pretty therapeutic job. It’s so cool to watch plants grow. They are like baby birds hatching. First thing after the root, a sprout comes up out of the dirt. It’s what survived. Later come the plant’s true leaves. Educationally, I am a sprout. This is the first time I’ve liked the educational system. If I weren’t here, I’d be in a very different place, a much worse place. ”