Young people don’t just need information. They need opportunities to investigate, document, and share what’s happening in their communities. At the Youth Community Journalism Institute, we believe journalism is a powerful tool for learning, connection, and civic participation.
This fall at Ella Baker School in Minneapolis, students showed what’s possible when journalism is woven into science, art, and community responsibility.
In an 11-week elective called Food Justice Knowledge to Action — piloted within Julia Gartzke’s “Science and the World” extension class — 19 middle school students explored food systems, culture, and health through hands-on learning, creative projects, gardening, and youth-led reporting.
The class asked a simple but powerful question: What happens when students are trusted to investigate real issues affecting their lives and share what they find?
The answer came quickly. Each week, students combined food education, creative experimentation, and storytelling to learn by doing.
Students reported on food access, climate, and health using local and national examples, including the work of food changemaker Ron Finley and community-based food leaders in Minnesota. They gathered information by growing microgreens, brewing herbal teas, painting with plant-based dyes, and connecting science to lived experience.
Their reporting examined school lunches, food shelves, cultural food traditions, and local resources. Students didn’t just identify problems. They proposed solutions, including school gardens and food-sharing efforts to support families facing food insecurity.
Guest speakers Princess Titus (Appetite for Change), Chidi Chidozie (University of Minnesota Global Garden), Brownson Arebojie (Sprouted Spirits and 4-H Hydroponics), and Hope Flanagan (Dream of Wild Health) helped students see how journalism, science, and community care intersect in real life.
Storytelling was central to the work. Students talked with community leaders, reflected on their own food traditions, and reported on issues impacting their families and neighborhoods.
The result was Food Justice News, a 24-page, student-produced print magazine shared with more than 500 students across the school community. It was proof that youth journalism can inform, connect, and serve a real audience.
Through reporting, writing, editing, and publishing, students practiced critical thinking, collaboration, and public communication. They learned that journalism is not just about telling stories. It’s about responsibility, accuracy, and community trust.
When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity disrupted families and daily routines, students recognized food justice as immediate and urgent. Their reporting and conversations led to an action plan centered on dignity, cultural relevance, and care.
The spirit of the class could be summed up simply: “Fresh foods feed the heart.”
The program concluded with a community celebration that reflected this spirit. Even as some students shifted to remote learning, the class remained joyful, collaborative, and youth-powered.
Developed in partnership with the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation and led by Leslie Topness, Willa Bartholomay, and Eric Ortiz, Food Justice Knowledge to Action shows how youth journalism can be a pathway to civic engagement and community change.
This is education innovation in practice. When young people are trusted as reporters of their own communities, journalism becomes more than an assignment.
It becomes a tool for action.
