$1,490 raised by 13 donors
10% complete
$15,000 Goal
FunkyTown Food Project envisions a world where youth are active leaders, diverse communities feel connected to the land and each other, and everyone has access to fresh, local, healthy, affordable food.
FunkyTown Food Project is a local nonprofit that utilizes sustainable food as a powerful tool to build a stronger, more integrated, and healthier community. Through Urban Roots NTX, the FunkyTown Food Project (FTFP) was established in 2021 to cultivate leadership skills in high school youth through food and farming by transforming the lives of young people to inspire, engage, and nourish the community. Our youth development and farming experience program is conducted at Conundrum Farms in Crowley, Texas.
FTFP's youth development program integrates agriculture, enterpise, and service to offer a 6-week practical experience for paid high school interns. Each year, we begin our program in the spring, having interested local high school students apply on-line through our website, and interviewed and selected for the Summer Program by our FTFP Program Team, including Program Directors and former interns. For the 2025 Summer Program we selected 18 high school students from our pool of interested students representing a cross-section of local high schools, from diverse neighborhoods, crossing racial, socio-economic and geographic boundaries. These students, known as the Seed Crew during the Program, began their 6-weeks on June 26th at Conundrum Farms. Also we had 6 returning interns who composed our Dirt and Root Crews (3 members each) for 2025. These Crews, as experienced Seed Crew interns, paricipate as group leaders for the Seed Crew during farm tasks performed in the mornings. They also assist in engaging the Seed Crew in afternoon work sessions, or at volunteer opportunities within the community, and honing their leadership skills. The Dirt and Root Crew members may also engage in special projects benefiting FTFP and our community into the academic year. The Crews are led by our Program Directors with the assistance of the Conundrum Farm staff.
Our participating youth also share their comments during and at the end of the Summer Program with FTFP. The following is a special comment from a former Dirt Crew Leader: "It (FTFP) both fostered my leadership skills and my personal confidence. The knowledge of farming practices and sense of community you get when you are an intern is only heightened when becoming an (ACL) Assistant Crew Leader. Leading farm chores helped me understand both the how and the why when it came to different growing practices, and I felt like I was not only a part of FTFP community but also was helping shape it. In addition, my leadership and confidence when leading a group improved and I became better at facilitating conversations."
FunkyTown Food Project seeks to create powerful change that is rooted in community. We work to uplift the community by removing barriers to food access and support local priorities established in partnership with residents, community groups, nonprofits, local government, and local businesses.
The FunkyTown Food Project’s mission is to cultivate leadership skills in high school youth through food and farming, transforming the lives of young people to inspire, engage, and nourish the community.
Also, we create a thoughtful and productive community of youth and adults from diverse backgrounds who work together to build a sustainable food system. Our community produces healthy food for residents of the city and suburbs, provides youth leadership opportunities, and inspires and supports others to create change in their own communities.
Currently, FunkyTown Food Project operates an annual 6-week Summer Program with an emphasis on youth devlopment and farming; 2025 marked our 4th successful year running this distinctive paid internship for local area high school students. Moving forward, we wish to increase the number of high school students that may participate in our Summer Program as well as offer special projects for them throughout the school year, engaging them in FTFP programming or collaborating with othe community programs engaged in the local food ecosystem.
- $3,000 Sponsors a youth/intern for the 6-week Summer Program.
- $500 Sponsors 1 week of a youth’s internship.
- $100 Sponsors a workshop or field trip day for youth/interns.
- ANY amount! Helps us grow more incredible youth leaders.
Funds may be utilized for items such as youth stipends and equitable wages; Farm-to-Market program development; Work materials such as t-shirts, caps, gloves, seeds, hand tools, mulch; Transportation for interns; Operational expenses for salaries and professional services.
We hope to ensure the continued ability of FunkyTown Food Project to inspire and nourish community through your support.
Urban Roots NTX is committed to centering equity on all the projects we manage. We acknowledge and value the importance of building an environment and community in which every employee and participant’s strengths are included and developed. We are responsible for creating an environment of mutual respect and acceptance of all people, regardless of race, gender, ability status, religion, health, zip code, or income.
Organization name
FunkyTown Food Project
other names
Urban Roots NTX
Causes
Youth & Children
Operating Budget
$100,000 - $249,999
Counties Served
Tarrant
BIPOC Serving
Black or African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Latinx, Native American, Other
BIPOC Leadership
Executive Director/CEO
Address
5532 ROCKY CREEK PARK RD