Using farm-to-table programs to help struggling youth

TLC's main campus just north of Sebastopol will soon have a new kitchen, garden and event space that will host the Journey School's new Food Service and Hospitality pathway

TLC’s new farm has already been completed. It features food crops, a chicken coop, and a courtyard in the middle for instruction. (Photo by Ezra Wallach)

Where there was once a barren and gopher-filled field in the middle of TLC Child & Family Service’s main campus, there is now a colorful garden and a chicken coop.

Next door is a kitchen under renovation—one that will be used by 12 students at a time for culinary arts courses at TLC’s Journey Academy.

In the near future, there will also be a table filled with fresh food, cooked using ingredients from the adjacent farm and served by aspiring waiters and chefs.

This is the vision for TLC’s Farm to Table program, which, in the words of Gaby Holmes, the center’s director of program enrichment, offers “marginalized youth and special education students” the “social-emotional, academic, vocational, and independent living skills needed to thrive in life through hands-on learning opportunities in culinary arts, hospitality, and agriculture.”

According to Holmes, the new kitchen and garden will be available to Journey students, along with other youth involved in various after-school and summer school programs as soon as the upcoming Fall 2024 semester.

“We will be using our generous award through the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Foundation to develop our curriculum for our Food Service and Hospitality pathway, which is a series of classes that will prepare students to work in this industry upon completion,” said Holmes.

The school’s Culinary Arts Director Kathleen Matthews also hopes that the Farm to Table program offers TLC’s youth the confidence and clarity of mind it takes to be independent and succeed in the marketplace.

“I want the kids to be confident enough to say, ‘You know what, I can get up in the morning and make myself an egg, make myself pasta, make conscious health decisions, go to the grocery store, and you know, not spend my whole paycheck,’” Matthews said. “Let's get them out of the thinking, ‘I’m going to eat out at Taco Bell every day,’ and instead have them saying, ‘Let me learn a life skill that I can utilize for something that I love, maybe something that I can take to a career.’”

Matthews’ culinary arts classes, which last 75 minutes and occur four days a week, train students in culinary skills as simple as making homemade pizza rolls and as complex as molecular gastronomy.

“Let’s impress your mom,” she said. “Let’s dazzle it up in a culinary way. Let’s get them interested and joyful and engaged so that these kids want to come to school.”

Matthews also says that her students have become more present and hopeful about their future as a result of their exposure to the culinary world.

“We recently went on a field trip, and one of the students was like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know you could do food stuff but not touch food.’ He saw that there are robotics and electronics in the food industry and something clicked because he loves computers,” Matthews said. “It's interesting how many students don’t know anything about this stuff. The goal of the farm and garden is to take what we've grown and utilize it as a meal.”

Improvements to TLC’s finished kitchen-classroom will include separate sinks for washing hands and cleaning dishes, a large refrigerator, freezer and dry room, both a gas range and an induction range stove, and five steel workstations.

The space will basically go from being a classroom with a simple stove, a sink and some tables to a facility that wouldn’t be out of place in a professional restaurant. And just yards away will be an abundant garden, growing various fruits and vegetables, along with a spacious new pavilion.

TLC is close to completing its capital campaign to raise the total $2 million for the Farm to Table site development. The site will add to TLC’s other offerings, which include adoption and housing services.

Anyone interested in donating, learning more, or getting a tour of the campus can contact TLC directly info@tlc4kids.org or (707) 823-7300.