The southern university agricultural research and extension center (SUAREC) providesagricultural training to youth

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Southern University Agricultural Research & Extension Center $599,998 on January 2, 2026, under the 1890 Institution Capacity Building Grants program (CFDA 10.216) to deliver agricultural training and youth development across six established sites in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The recipient will operate a garden program and therapeutic horticulture experience for youth within non-traditional educational settings, deliver nutrition education and mental health classes, and provide interpersonal and workforce skills training designed to create pathways to higher education and career opportunities. The program includes formal classroom experiences through Southern University's College of Agriculture, Human and Environmental Sciences, with instruction combining classroom and hands-on horticultural activities, and awards certificates upon successful completion. Southern University agriculture students receive community-based mentorship opportunities, specialized horticulture courses with service-learning components, and internships integrated into the youth development program. The multidisciplinary approach addresses nutritional education, mental health, interpersonal skills, and social workforce development to expose students to agricultural opportunities while positioning both youth participants and university students for productive careers with agriculture as a foundation.

The period of performance extends from the award date through January 1, 2029.

Six sites have been established. The primary goalof this project is to expose students to agricultural opportunities by addressingcomponents of nutritional education, mental health interpersonal social and workforceskills to create opportunities for the youth. Objectives include (1) to develop a gardenprogram and therapeutic horticulture experience for youth within the non-traditionaleducational setting; and (2) to promote healthy lifestyles through nutrition education andmental health classes to youth; (3) to provide youth with interpersonaland professional workforce skills for career opportunities and family strengtheningtechniques; (4) to provide formal classroom experiences through the college of agriculturehuman and environmental sciences faculty staff and resources targeting youth includingstudent recruitment and services (IE. Scholarship opportunities); and (5) to implementteaching opportunities to SU students in the college of AG that provide community-basedmentorship opportunities specialized AG courses focusing on horticulture and its relationto sociology service-learning hours and student internships. Instruction involves bothclassroom and hands-on horticultural activities. Certificates are awarded upon successfulcompletion of the program. The life changing multidisciplinary approach to this project willallow youth participants to gain horticultural and nutritional knowledge mental healthinterpersonal social and workforce skills to provide a pathway to higher education. SU agstudents have quality mentorship internship and service-learning hands-on opportunities.thus positioning both sets of students up for a healthy and productive lifestyle withagriculture as its backbone.