Summer 2016 was the inaugural season of a summer job skills program created as a
bridge for high school age students with special needs as they transition from academic programs into life as adult members of the community. In collaboration the Trellis Project, a youth oriented personal development program created by the Center for Restorative Youth Justice, several students from area high schools participated in twelve
weeks of job skills development at the Central Kitchen Garden in Kalispell. Over the course of the summer, CRYJ youth and our job skills students worked together with staff and volunteers to expand the garden, grow a plethora of fresh fruits and vegetables, and host several community supper clubs, meals created and served by program participants to showcase the summer’s work and skills of each student. The youth also manned a donation based market stand on site two days per week offering fresh produce to the community.