Grow with us
Welcome to a place focused on your community. The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Food, Agriculture, Nutrition Innovation Center — we call it JJK FAN — shows kids and teens how they can grow their minds as they grow healthy food. As we grow, we envision adding adult-focused initiatives, as well.
Whether you want someone in your life to learn and connect at JJK FAN — or provide support so others can — this East St. Louis hub of opportunity and impact has the right fit, including classes and events related to:
- Agriculture
- STEAM (science, tech, engineering, arts and math)
- Food innovation
- Nutrition
- Physical activity
- Entrepreneurship
Collaborating for you
Who joined forces to make all this possible in one place? Four partner organizations focused on changing lives today so tomorrow is bolder and brighter for us all. Each organization’s contributions amplify JJK FAN’s ability to instill in those who gather how food, science and innovation — working together — create lives and livelihoods so people thrive.
Why we’re here
Collaborating to inspire youth and families in East St. Louis and beyond through education, urban agriculture, physical activity and positive youth development.
Take a peek
Here’s an example of what we can do together.
At JJK FAN, we built a huge passive solar greenhouse — the first of its kind in the United States! What does this unique structure do? Capture the sun’s energy so it uses very little electricity to cool things down in the summer and warm them up in the winter.
The biggest win? The greenhouse can produce up to 30,000 pounds of food per year — for only $1 day — to share with your community.
The youth of East St. Louis reside at the heart of JJK FAN. We expect our programs, partnerships and plans to succeed so fully that JJK FAN will be a national model of excellence others will replicate.
COVERAGE ON KSDK.
New food nutrition and agriculture center to come in East St. Louis
The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation has joined forces with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.
COVERAGE ON FOX.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation opens new STEAM+Ag learning center
The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation is planting seeds for change by creating opportunities for young people in agriculture and plant science.
