All of the towns around here have community gardens. They are heavily used! There is also a wonderful organic farming program about 5 miles from here; they hire an equal number of kids from the city and the suburbs to work there. One day a week they sell stuff at a farmer's market in Boston (in a depressed area) and they provide a lot of food to shelters. They also sell stuff at the farm (where I buy it). The kids that come from the city are given free passes for public transportation to get to the farm. Whenever any of the kids are on the train, they are not allowed to wear headphones or talk on their phone, when they are wearing their t shirts and hats that represent the project.
My kids had several friends who worked at this farm for their entire high school career; it was wonderful.