A Week That Lasted a Lifetime The long-term impact of residential farm visits on children

For fifty years, Farms for City Children (FfCC) has enabled children from urban and disadvantaged communities to spend a week living and working on real farms. During their stay, children care for animals, grow food, work outdoors, share communal responsibilities and experience rural life first hand. This working paper explores the long-term influence of those experiences. Drawing on interviews with FfCC founders, staff and educators, alongside survey responses from adults who attended FfCC visits as children, the research demonstrates that the impact often extends far beyond the week itself. Participants frequently recalled their visit in vivid detail many years later. Many described it as one of the most memorable experiences of their childhood. The findings suggest that residential farm visits strengthen children's relationships with nature, build confidence and independence, develop practical and social skills, and broaden aspirations. In some cases, participants reported that the experience influenced later decisions about education, careers, lifestyle choices and parenting. The evidence indicates that residential farm experiences should be viewed not simply as educational enrichment activities but as potentially transformative experiences with benefits that continue throughout adulthood and across generations.