Growing Full Futures: Student Leaders Cultivate Food Access in Charlotte, NC

Thousands of farmers markets across the U.S. provide fresh food, support local farmers, and promote sustainability. At Garinger High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, a revived market shows that food access can also provide a space for learning, where students lead, serve, and make a difference in their communities. 

Through Full Futures, a collaborative effort that Healthier Generation manages in partnership with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) and nonprofit partners, the student-run Garinger Market is nurturing food access, nutrition education, and youth leaders – making healthy eating more accessible and sustainable for students and families.

What is the Garinger Market?

The Bulb, a Charlotte-based nonprofit, operates barrier-free mobile farmers markets that bring fresh, no-cost produce directly into surrounding neighborhoods. Originally launched in 2021, the Garinger Market was revived in the 2024–2025 school year with a new approach: aligning its schedule with a culinary internship class so students could take an active role in its success. 

Now held twice a month on Wednesdays during school hours, the market not only expands food access but also incorporates nutrition, leadership, and service into the student learning experience. 

“The Garinger CTE [Career and Technical Education] internship class that partners with The Bulb is a unique arrangement that has been highly impactful. Student interns lead while educating other students, helping the community, and earning academic credit,” says Deepal Patel, career and technical education coordinator with CMS. “This is certainly a great practice of integrating academics, community, and a nutrition mission.”

Full Futures and Healthier Generation: A Collaborative Effort

Launched in 2021 by The Campbell’s Company, the Full Futures initiative brings together districts, nonprofits, and community partners to ensure that all children are well nourished and ready to thrive at school and in life. Healthier Generation serves as the backbone organization for Full Futures, providing centralized support, coordination, and evaluation for collective efforts in Charlotte, NC; Camden, New Jersey; and Hanover, Pennsylvania.

Through Full Futures, Healthier Generation supported The Bulb in making connections at CMS to be able to work directly with the culinary students who support the market. The Bulb manages day-to-day operations of the market while Healthier Generation ensures alignment with district priorities, connects them to students and teachers, and uplifts their work in reports and partnership meetings.

“The most rewarding part is hearing directly from students about the impact this experience has on them – the skills they gain, the pride they feel in serving, and the way they connect with their community.”  - Jukelia Bess, project manager with Healthier Generation. 

Bess adds, “It’s also powerful knowing that when we all walk into a room, each of us might see something different, whether it’s access, education, culture, or family – and every perspective adds to the collective vision. That’s what makes this work sustainable and impactful.”

Local Reach, Meaningful Engagement 

In one school year, the Garinger Market has grown into a reliable hub for food access and student leadership, reaching more families each month while creating meaningful learning opportunities for students:

• From October 2024 through July 2025, the market hosted 21 pop-ups, serving nearly 2,100 household members and distributing 15,775 pounds of food.
• Attendance grew from 67 shoppers in October 2024 to more than 100 guests per month by summer 2025, with many first-time households joining each market.
• Youth consistently made up 40 – 45% of those served, highlighting the market’s role in supporting families with school-aged children.
• Each pop-up offered 14 –18 unique produce items, including seasonal favorites like kale, blueberries, peaches, pomegranates, and summer squash.

In addition to distributing food, students talk with families, answer questions about produce, and reflect on what they’ve learned about food access, community, and service.

“Seeing high school students actively engaged in food distribution and wellness education resonated deeply with our market guests. It was equally powerful to hear from the students themselves, both in real time and during their year-end presentations, about how valuable the experience was to them.” - Lisa Mathews, executive director at The Bulb.

Building Impact Through Partnerships

Partnerships have been key to supplying Charlotte’s markets and ensuring families have consistent access to fresh food. With support from Healthier Generation through the Full Futures initiative, 100 Gardens grew and donated more than 700 pounds of leafy greens from its aquaponics systems in schools across the district. At J.T. Williams Secondary Montessori, a Full Futures intern contributed an additional 355 pounds of produce from their community garden to The Bulb. 

An intern says, “Volunteering at The Bulb markets helped me see how having a career in nutrition can make a difference in communities where it’s greatly needed.” 

Nurturing Student Leadership in Camden

In Camden, too, student leadership is at the heart of farmers markets. Monthly markets are coordinated by the Camden City School District School Nutrition Team and supported by student volunteers, including the Youth Advisory Council and School Nutrition Student Ambassadors, with food sourced directly from local farms. Many students say participating in the markets is their favorite activity of the year.

“We host an annual End-of-Year Celebration, and getting to hear directly from the students about the impact that it’s had on them is so heartwarming,” says Jackie Strohm, evaluation manager at Healthier Generation. “They are gaining valuable skills while connecting with community members.”

“It’s powerful to watch students connect what they grow in the classroom to what ends up on their neighbors’ tables,” says Mathews. “That connection makes the work real.”
 

Learn more about Healthier Generation’s efforts to expand food and nutrition access:

Eat Healthy, Eat Well: Strengthening Food Access and Nutrition Education in North Carolina

The Full Futures Partnership Advances School Nutrition in its Third Year

-By Nicole Blanton, Manager of Culturally Responsive Communications at Healthier Generation