Yo! is a garden project engaging and partnering with youth through skills trainings in sustainable agriculture and community organizing.

We provide leadership opportunities, a challenging environment in which to grow and a space for personal development, especially the improvement of health and nutrition.

Ultimately, we seek to create a just, local, sustainable community food system where everyone has access to safe, healthy foods, regardless of income, where farmers receive a fair price for the food they produce, and the land and the people are once again in relationship.

The 3rd Ave People's Harvest Garden is collaboration between Hunger Action
Network of NYS and Youth Organics. The land is donated by Albany Housing Authority. It is maintained by Yo's Spring and Summer Crews, and by community residents and volunteers on Monday evenings from 5:30-7pm. All who work in the garden get to take home a share of the produce as well. On April 26th there will be a Work Party at the garden as part of Youth Service Day from 10am-1pm. We will be filling in raised beds with compost, hand tilling the beds, planting, cleaning up trash, and possibly preparing an area to be planted, so bring your shovels and rakes. Please call the office at 463-2222 to sign up and/or to participate in the Monday volunteer days.

Yo! Youth Organics has something new to offer to community members- a YO! Garden Share and a farm stand where you can support a great community project and enjoy fresh vegetables straight from the garden. The Yo Garden Share system is based on the idea of a traditional CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), but has the advantage that you can order what you want, instead of receiving the same produce every week that you wind up not eating. This way one does not waste a lot of food, and can plan out the meals for the week. Other benefits of the program include a variety of local, fresh produce from three different garden sites(all grown non certified organically), some of which include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, spinach, peas, turnips, carrots, potatoes, beets, kale, collards, beans, onions, herbs and more, and directly supporting the work of Youth Organics and the 3rd Ave People's Harvest Garden.

YO! is Youth Organics, which was started by volunteers in the summer of 2004 on a vacant lot near Grand Street in Albany, New York. This year the program is expanding with new garden spaces in the South End, and with staff who are experienced in both gardening and working with youth.