“Rough” and “unhealthy” are the words Tim Dubuclet uses to describe his childhood. Raised in inner-city New Orleans, he and his friends would wander the city’s violent streets after school, living on a diet of fast food and soda. By the time he was 17, Dubuclet weighed more than 300 pounds. But he dramatically transformed his lifestyle during a program with Grow Dat Youth Farm, where students are paid to grow fresh produce. There, he started focusing on his diet. He spent two days each week working in the garden, growing and weeding the radishes, chard and other vegetables he had never heard of before. He felt empowered cooking these new healthful foods, and lost 80 pounds. “At the farm, people came to talk to us about health, opening our eyes to the dangers of things like sugary drinks,” said Dubuclet, now 20. “I started eating healthier, growing my own food. I realized there was so much more to life than what I was doing with myself.” In 2013, Grow Dat found most of its incoming students living unwholesome lifestyles, with only 12 percent who reported eating vegetables in the previous 24 hours. Some, like Dubuclet, came from poor neighborhoods, or […]
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