Who We Are

The Food Literacy Project’s (FLP) mission is: youth transforming their communities through food, farming, and the land. Working toward a vision for a healthy and equitable community where people and places thrive, we have invited youth to connect with the soil, sun, water, air and the people who work to feed us since 2006. As youth experience the rigor and rewards of farming, they gain life and leadership skills, access to healthful food, positive childhood experiences, and opportunities to shape a more equitable and culturally relevant community food system.

Participants grow their nutritional literacy, including understanding how to grow and cook healthy foods, as well as their sense of community, wellbeing, relationships with the food system and their environment, and their ability to make their voices heard to challenge the systemic inequities they did not create, but seek to change. 

Our Work
Since 2006, FLP has engaged over 60,000 community members through high-quality, evidence-based in- and afterschool programs with food, farming, and social emotional learning at their core. Now based at land that we own, we are positioned to activate long-term conservation strategies, scale production and impact, and plant deep roots in the neighborhood while continuing to engage community members throughout Louisville.

FLP’s Youth Cultivating Change programs position youth to address the inequities of our food system and promote local solutions:
- The Youth Community Agriculture Program (YCAP) employs 25+ youth ages 16–24 each year to grow and harvest vegetables applying agroecologically inspired practices, distribute fresh food, engage in environmental and social justice education, connect with their communities, and build teamwork and leadership skills, gaining experience for lifelong success.
- Field-to-Fork (F2F) includes in- and after-school programs that connect students and their family members with gardening, culinary, healthy living, and nutrition education rooted in the power of youth and community food systems, as well as fresh produce and cooking and gardening resources.
- Food Access and Community Engagement initiatives are also central to FLP's work. In 2025, 13,000lbs of youth-grown produce and hundreds of cooking and gardening resources were distributed free of charge throughout the community in neighborhoods facing significant food access barriers.

In partnership with schools and other community organizations in neighborhoods where access to nourishing foods, green spaces, and economic opportunity has long been restricted, FLP works to equip youth with skills that support their short- and long-term success. 

Rooted In Community

For 20 years, our land-based mission – youth transforming their communities through food, farming and the land – was carried out through youth development and environmental education programs on land we did not own. Multiple involuntary farm moves disrupted farming and program operations, and tenant status interfered with investment in soil, perennial crops, infrastructure, and long-term relationships with neighbors. Meanwhile, demand for our farm-based youth development work has grown consistently since 2006; our Forever Home will provide much-needed stability for our organization, sustaining and expanding our work. The site will function as the “hub” of our mission, supporting work at various “spoke” sites – at schools and community agencies – throughout the community. In this way, the Forever Home farm will be the root of exponential growth for many years to come. The “hub” will be the host site for our organizational headquarters, youth driven farm and YCAP, on-farm F2F programs, and much of our community engagement programming. “Spoke” sites include F2F programs and community engagement in partnership with schools and other nonprofit organizations and food distribution partnerships.

Celebrating 20 Years!