Building a just food system for all

Teens for Food Justice (TFFJ) is building a food-secure future through school-based, youth-led hydroponic farming, providing local, sustainably-grown produce to food desert communities and building health, education and opportunity equity for all New Yorkers and beyond.

What We Do

TFFJ embeds high-capacity hydroponic farms directly inside public schools. These farms function as working infrastructure and classroom spaces where students grow food, study food systems, and build skills to advocate for food justice.

Food Access

TFFJ farms can grow up to 10,000 pounds of produce per campus annually. This food is served in school cafeterias, distributed to campus families, and shared with community members through local partner organizations.

Food Justice Education

Students participate in school-day STEM classes and afterschool programs using the farm as a classroom. Programming covers hydroponic agriculture, nutrition, health, and the structures that shape food access in their communities.

Youth Leadership

Students operate the farms, coordinate food distributions, and develop advocacy projects. TFFJ provides pathways for students to engage in food policy work and take on leadership roles within their schools and communities.

We build and operate the Farm

TFFJ installs and maintains a high-capacity hydroponic farm on campus, capable of growing up to 10,000 pounds of produce annually. Each farm is run by a full-time Farmer-Educator, employed through NYC Public Schools and trained by TFFJ.

We co-teach with teachers

TFFJ Farmer-Educators work directly with classroom teachers to co-deliver standards-aligned lessons. Classes integrate urban agriculture, environmental science, living environment, and health. Sessions run weekly or biweekly, approximately 50 minutes each.

The school-based Farm feeds the school and community

Produce grown on campus reaches the school cafeteria daily, campus families biweekly, and community members through local food distribution partners. Students see the direct impact of the farm they study on.

Students can go further through afterschool

For students who want to take on farm operations, TFFJ’s afterschool program offers that opportunity. Participants take on seeding, harvesting, distribution, and leadership, alongside additional nutrition education, culinary exploration, and advocacy work.

Where We Work

TFFJ currently operates across 22 Title I middle and high schools in New York City and Denver. Our NYC farms are located in the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Each school hosts a full-time Farmer-Educator and a functioning farm that serves the campus and surrounding community.

59,000

pounds of student-grown produce distributed per year.

Our Impact

Student-grown produce is served in school cafeterias, local food pantries, and school-based food distributions, increasing access to fresh, healthy food access for low-income communities.

10,000+

Students
Fed Annually

Schools
Participating

Community
Partners

How It Works

Explore Our Farms

“This innovative project fills a critical need for sustainable food sources and has the power to greatly improve access to healthy, fresh produce in the city. We couldn’t be prouder to partner with Teens for Food Justice to help cultivate the next generation of leaders committed to clean energy, healthy communities, and a sustainable planet.”

"The initiatives undertaken by TFFJ in these schools generate significant educational benefits that resonate throughout the community, simultaneously offering essential resources to vulnerable adults."

"Having the opportunity to support an organization to tackling the food insecurity crisis that has plagued marginalized community for decades is something that I am extremely excited and passionate about. Being able to see our young people play a part in tackling this challenge is an exciting opportunity to be a part of."