Keeping It Fresh At The Mini-Farm!

Something special is growing at the Seaford Boys & Girls Club and that's our very own garden and farm! Maintained by Seaford's Agriculture Head Taylor Trent, the farm has become an essential part of the Club as a hands-on classroom for our members to connect with gardening, nutrition and nature. In just 6 months since joining the Club last fall, Taylor has shaped the farm into a vibrant, evolving space that supports both healthy meals and meaningful youth development skills. where creativity, learning, and community intersect. 

The Seaford mini-farm continues to grow both in scope and impact. With the addition of a second high tunnel installed in late 2023, the farm has expanded its capacity to produce food nearly year-round. Today, the space is home to a variety of perennial fruits and vegetables including asparagus, strawberries, lettuce, blueberries, and apple and cherry trees. Each growing season also brings an abundance of annual crops. Taylor hopes to expand her harvest by growing greens such as broccoli, cauliflower, Swiss chard, cucumbers, green beans, and fruits such as cantaloupes and melons. This spring, the farm underwent a full seasonal refresh as beds were weeded, reseeded, and plated for a productive year ahead. 

Taylor’s goal is not just to grow more food, but to grow the right kinds of food that our Club members enjoy eating. A major focus on the mini-farm is using the tunnels to produce fruit and veggie options that are easy to cut and serve fresh, or incorporate into simple dishes that align with the Club’s food menu.  By aligning the farm’s output with the needs of the Club kitchen, the farm’s program helps ensure fresh produce that our Club kids can assist in planting and growing makes its way directly onto the kids plates. From this, they can say they’ve eaten the food they helped grow!

Youth involvement is at the heart of the Seaford Club mini-farm. Their involvement in the growing process creates a powerful moment at harvest where they can enjoy the food they’ve helped sow while deepening their knowledge of food systems and farm life. Each week, Taylor leads a class or activity designed to strengthen kids’ understanding of agriculture, nutrition, and healthy living. These activities balance education with fun, making learning approachable and engaging. Some highlights include a Pumpkin Seed Taste Test where kids cooked and compared sweet and salty pumpkin seeds and participated in a club tally, Seed Packet Creations that blended gardening with social- emotional learning as Taylor compared the daily need of water, sleep, and care of plants to human needs, and Garden Jeopardy where Club kids tested their knowledge on nutrition, plants, flowers, and more. The toughest question Taylor recalled was when students had to name all 5 colors of bell peppers. Members didn't know that there are purple bell peppers! Youth also grew their own microgreens, learning about nutrient-dense foods, how to harvest them properly, and how to later enjoy the,. Many were excited to take their plants home sharing what they had learned at the farm with their families. 

This past spring, the farm played an important role in the Seaford Club’s Spring Festival. The festival exceeded expectations welcoming over 20 vendors and highlighting the strong community support surrounding the Club and its agricultural program. Looking ahead, the farm will take on an even larger role during Summer Fun Club. Rather than short, limited activities, Taylor plans to give kids extended time in the garden, allowing for deeper, hands-on engagement. Summer Fun Club at Seaford will also include a special AG Week, featuring garden-centered activities such as scavenger hunts, Garden Olympics, and creative projects such as flower bracelet making. These activities are all designed to make learning about the farm more accessible and exciting!

As the Seaford Club Farm continues to grow, so does its vision. Taylor hopes to further strengthen the connection between agriculture and nutrition, an area she sees as both a challenge and an opportunity. She also plans to incorporate more student volunteers into the program, expanding its capacity while offering additional leadership and learning experiences. Long term, the dream is to expand the farm beyond the high tunnels and beds she has planted and embrace an organic, flexible layout that promotes diversity in whats grown. The farm’s design encourages creativity and adaptation as Taylor notes there is no single “right” way to garden. This approach not only maximizes space but exposes kids to a wide variety of growing methods, all teaching the lesson to “embrace the chaos” as Taylor puts it. 

At its core, the Seaford Club Farm is about growth - growth of plants, skills, and confidence. With continued support and thoughtful leadership, the farm will remain a place where Club members can learn, explore, and build healthy relationships with food in the years ahead.