Sylvester Brown Jr., co-founder of the Sweet Potato Project with the North Area Community Development Corporation, needs the community’s vote to win a $20,000 grant. Until Sunday, August 3, the public may vote for their favorite local nonprofit to win one of five grants awarded through Monsanto’s Grow St. Louis program.
Brown said The Sweet Potato Project is up against some tough competition with more than 80 nonprofits vying for the grants – and that many are equally deserving of the honor. Winners will be selected from five categories.
The Sweet Potato Project program teaches youth how to become “urban entrepreneurs” in their own neighborhoods and encourages them to be ambassadors of positive change. Youth are paid a summer salary for nine weeks to learn urban farming, teamwork, social media, culinary, marketing, product development, sales and other valuable self-sufficiency skills.
“St. Louis is a city in desperate need of income-generating opportunities for youth and residents in low-income areas with little-to-no college training,” Brown said. “Having a localized, sustainable money-generating food system is a way to reduce crime and unemployment and generate sustainable opportunities in North St. Louis.”
Grow St. Louis funding will go toward operating and expanding the Sweet Potato Project program, he said. Funding will help secure more vacant lots in the city of St. Louis for planting produce, recruit at-risk urban youth, and build a food-processing facility, he said. He hopes to expand the product line and is “testing” the market by introducing Sweet Potato chips, brownies, and pancake mix. Grants specifically tailored toward small, grassroots organizations help fill that gap of uncertainty, he said.
“For small nonprofits where it’s a one or two person operation, this is great. This is money that can help us achieve our goals,” he said.
Voters will find the Sweet Potato Project listed under the Education and Extracurricular Activities category. Last year’s winners included the Marine Toys for Tots, Animal Protective Association of Missouri, and St. John’s United Methodist Church.
To vote, you must first ‘like’ the Grow St. Louis Facebook page. One vote per day per person is all it takes to support your favorite nonprofit. To increase his chances of winning, Brown has turned to social media. On Linkedin, a social network for professionals, he sent out a heartfelt plea for public support in a status update.
“Help our efforts to inspire a generation of young, urban pioneers dedicated to reclaiming and revitalizing North St. Louis,” he wrote.
Vote here: https://apps.facebook.com/growstl/
Follow this reporter on Twitter: @BridjesONeil
E-mail this reporter: boneil@stlamerican.com
