"For some of these kids, it is going to be their first job, giving them those life skills they can use to succeed in their future endeavors," says the mayor of Binghamton, New York.
That's because the city has awarded a $100,000 grant to Volunteers Helping Neighborhood Environments to expand its youth employment program, which has employed more than 130 teens and young adults since 2010, reports the Press & Sun-Bulletin.
The Grow Binghamton grant will allow VINES to hire two new program assistants under the age of 25, as well as expand a part-time administrative role at the urban farm, which was created in 2010 to fight urban blight and provide "healthy, affordable food to local residents," per a press release.
The farm has grown from a half-acre to 2.25 acres since the city used FEMA funding to purchase properties in flood-prone neighborhoods, per the Press & Sun-Bulletin.
"Grow Binghamton not only provides meaningful employment, but also increases food access to low income residents," says Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham.
"This grant is part of an unprecedented investment we have been making in youth services all across the City of Binghamton, investing in Binghamton's youth for its future."
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