Early Roots Kitchen is a youth-powered food and workforce initiative that combines skill-building, nourishment, and leadership development. Young people gain hands-on experience in food preparation, coordination, and service while contributing to community meals and food programs.

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The project treats kitchens as learning spaces and food as a pathway to confidence, employment, and care. Early Roots Kitchen connects youth to real responsibilities and transferable skills, while grounding the work in nourishment, teamwork, and community connection.

Pink Pantry is a decentralized food resource designed to support grassroots leaders in serving their communities when and where it is most needed. Rather than operating from a single site or fixed schedule, Pink Pantry equips trusted community leaders with the ability to distribute food in ways that reflect local rhythms, relationships, and realities.

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By decentralizing food distribution, Pink Pantry shifts power away from rigid systems and toward the people closest to the need. It allows communities to respond quickly, with dignity and care, while reducing barriers and inefficiencies common in traditional food access models. Pink Pantry treats food not as charity, but as a flexible tool for community resilience and mutual support.

Ponckhockie Market is a youth-led, community-based food access and local economy project rooted in dignity, affordability, and neighborhood ownership. Located in a historically underserved area, the market directly addresses a local food desert by bringing fresh, culturally relevant food into the neighborhood in ways that respect community voice and choice.

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Beyond access, Ponckhockie Market creates leadership and workforce pathways for young people, who help design, operate, and adapt the market alongside community members. The project strengthens local food circulation, supports small producers and vendors, and treats food access as essential community infrastructure — not charity.

Kingston Digest is a youth-led, community-rooted publication focused on deepening people’s relationship with the local food system and the broader forces shaping everyday life in Kingston. Through reporting, analysis, and storytelling, young writers and editors explore how food, land, policy, labor, and local decision-making intersect.

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Rather than chasing headlines, Kingston Digest prioritizes depth, context, and accountability. The project builds youth leadership in media and critical inquiry while helping residents better understand where their food comes from, who controls it, and how community-rooted alternatives can take shape.

Batting Adverse Childhood Experiences through Community Advocacy, Mentorship, Play, and Success

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ONE STRIKE BASECAMPS is a youth-centered initiative serving primarily low-income and disenfranchised young people, using sports, mentorship, and community presence to address the impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The program creates consistent, structured spaces where youth can build trust, resilience, and confidence outside of punitive or extractive systems.

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Grounded in play, mentorship, and advocacy, ONE STRIKE BASECAMPS emphasizes relationship-building and stability as foundations for wellbeing and safety. By meeting youth where they are and centering care, accountability, and joy, the program offers alternatives that support long-term growth, connection, and community belonging.

Latin Outreach, Unity and Development

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L.O.U.D. is a community initiative focused on strengthening connection, visibility, and opportunity within Latinx communities. The project creates space for cultural affirmation, mutual support, and leadership development rooted in shared experience and collective care.

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Through outreach, programming, and community engagement, L.O.U.D. works to reduce isolation and barriers while amplifying voices that are often excluded from decision-making spaces. Its work is grounded in unity, dignity, and community-led development.