
Galloping Grace Youth Ranch, a non-profit working youth ranch based in Rio Rancho, is rooted in their community in a variety of ways. They have a multifaceted mission, but we'll start with the largest and most important part of what they do: their youth ranch. Central to their mission is education. They teach kids about sustainable farming practices through the raising of livestock and vegetable farming. Galloping Grace prioritizes hands-on learning at the ranch to help kids develop leadership skills and connect them to their communities through food. Their Junior Leader Program has five main skills they help Junior Leaders work on: agricultural aptitude, communication, social awareness, empathy, and problem solving through collaboration. Junior Leaders develop these skills by collaborating with others to care for and raise animals and crops.

The second dimension of Galloping Grace's mission is their Food Recovery Program. They are responsible for saving over two million pounds of produce from taking up space in landfills. A large majority of the food scraps are sent to Galloping Grace from Roadrunner Food Bank, another local non-profit committed to reducing food waste. Produce is first donated to the Food Bank where it is sorted by volunteers. The produce that is still great quality and ready for use by families across New mexico is re-distributed. The produce that is not healthy for folks to consume is separated and sent to Galloping Grace. Once it is on the farm it is used to feed the livestock at Galloping Grace that the kids participating in youth leadership programs are helping to raise. The livestock are then sent to a local processing facility where meat is packaged and then donated back to the Food Bank. Last year they donated almost 2,000 pounds!
For more info on their summer camps and their Junior Leader program email: [email protected] or check out their website for more details. Establishing a sense of community and helping others is so central to their message. If you would like to help them in that mission they are always looking for volunteers!
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