Established in 1996 to address academic and social needs that cripple the futures of many young people, YMEN serves about 150 families weekly by providing academic support and skill enhancement, entrepreneurial training, arts education, value-based enhancement classes as well as mentoring, tutoring, sports/recreation and a wide variety of field trip experiences. Small Axe Peppers sent YMEN the seeds, which they began cultivating indoors months ago. Teacher Carey Trout worked the peppers into her earth science curriculum as a hands-on lesson about the biosphere. Classes learned how to nurture the seedlings indoors and eventually plant in the ground outside.
“We figured out the garden is definitely an economic engine, and it’s a communal space… Our plan is to really keep figuring out how it can be a vehicle for greater social change.”
Each bottle of hot sauce purchased directly supports Detroit Food Zoo and many other gardens with vibrant social missions to strengthen the fabric of urban neighborhoods.
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