Monday, June 11, 2018

Photo Story - CSC Youth House

  Vincent Drew (right) standing in the CSC booth at the Corvallis Farmers Market 
while passersby try samples of some of the jams and jellies.

It's 6:30 am on Saturday June 2nd, 2018, at a time where most people are still cozied up in bed, Vincent Drew and his youth crew are setting up (the Community Service Consortium Youth Garden booth) for another day at the Corvallis Farmers Market. The market runs Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9 am until 1 pm beginning in mid April and goes until mid November. During this time, Drew and his crew are busy engaging with eager passersby who stop to try the samples of the jams, jellies, and salsas that are made in house out of the fruits and vegetables grown in the flower beds right outside of the CSC Youth House, located on 2nd and Western Blvd in downtown Corvallis.

  Jeremiah W. processing the peppers to be added to the "Sassy Salsa." 

Back at the Youth House a few days later, Vincent has brought together Felix, Jeremiah, Bailey, and Eric, a group of youth enrolled in the federal workforce program that is provided by CSC as a way to "encourage learning, entrepreneurship and work readiness in Benton County youth," to make a batch of one of the homemade salsas, the Sassy Salsa. 

Felix P., Jeremiah W., Bailey B., and Eric B ( Left to right) portion out a batch of 
the recently made salsa to be canned and sold at the Corvallis Farmers Market.

From 9 am until a little after noon, the Youth House members are busy processing tomatoes into a paste and peppers and onions into slivers to be cooked together with vinegar and cayenne powder to create the perfect blend of flavors fit for your next bowl of chips. The ingredients are then tossed together over the stove in the slow process of boiling the concoction to reduce the amount of water in order to reach a reasonable consistency, filling the house with a sweet and spicy aroma in no time. 

  Felix P. and Jeremiah  W. (left to right) scooping out salsa into mason jars 
that Eric B.(right) places into a basket to be pressure sealed. 

After the tomato "stew" has reached an adequate consistency, it is hauled off to be ladled and portioned off into separate mason jars. Passing through a a 15 minute bath in boiling water, the jars are removed and allowed to cool down, resulting in a vacuum seal that leaves them ready to be sold at the next farmers market in the following weeks.

  Vincent Drew carefully removing the very hot salsa jars from the 
boiling water to let them cool down and seal.

Yet even with all the time and effort that goes into the process of making these added value products the end goal is not necessarily that of making money, but as more of a way for these youth to be able to learn skills such as raising and cultivating produce through the garden, handling money through the farmers market booth, and learning work readiness skills in order to prepare themselves to enter the ever competitive job market. 
Besides the work that is done through the garden and farmers market, the CSC Youth House also provide youth with the opportunity and guidance to be able to do things such as completing a high school or GED degree and identifying their unique strengths in an environment made to support them in their journey forward. To find out more information, please head to http://communityservices.us/education/. 
 



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