Meet the workers at Arthur & Friends Greenhouse Project

A social entrepreneurial program providing meaningful community employment and training opportunities through hydroponic farming to individuals with disabilities.

Arthur, Matt, Lucy and Felicia are some of the trainees at this successful employment project housed in the main greenhouse at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in New Jersey. Interest and demand are high for this green project, which provides healthful produce and job training for people long considered unemployable. Plans are underway for two more greenhouses in the state, and inquiries are coming in from across the U.S.on how to replicate this project.

Arthur & Friends' four-module program begins with lettuce propagation and retail business skills, teaching 'the friends' how to plant and care for lettuce and quick-growing salad produce, which is sold to the general public at the greenhouse and farmers' markets. Module Two expands training to include sales to local restaurants, schools and participating stores and wholesale markets. Module Three extends training to the development of an online business where products and plants are sold via the internet. At this level, friends learn skills such as filling orders, working with the on-line public, shipping, customer service, money management and basic financial management skills. Module Four prepares friends for internships, interviews, and supported employment.

Graduates of the program run 'Greenhouse Projects' at other locations, work at local nurseries, retail stores, on-line businesses, serve as project trainers and as entrepreneurs.

Kessler Foundation leads the way in linking science and grantsmanship so that people with disabilities can lead more productive, independent and fulfilling lives. For more information about Kessler Foundation, go to http://www.KesslerFoundation.org

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Education

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