Teens, their families and staff with the Gary Comer Youth Center and Future Farmers of America smashed unsold pumpkins from different grocery stores around the area on Saturday at Comer Crops Youth Farm, 7230 S. Chicago Ave.
Some of those pumpkins will be composted on the farm and others will be brought to a composting facility, according to Sandra Reno, the urban agriculture grower at Comer Education Campus.
The fourth annual Pumpkin Smash event, which teens organized, featured pizza making with ingredients from the farm, T-shirt making, a farmers market and activities for kids.
Camren Tolliver (second from right) throws a pumpkin into a barrel at the Comer Corps Youth Farm in Greater Grand Crossing.
Joshua Williams, 16, carries a pumpkin at the Comer Corps Youth Farm in Greater Grand Crossing. Composting is an environmentally friendly way to get rid of organic waste.
Oluseyi Olaleye hits a pumpkin inside a dumpster with a bat at the Comer Corps Youth Farm in Grand Crossing, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
Justin Wadley, 16, holds a pumpkin at the Comer Corps Youth Farm in Grand Crossing, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
Camren Tolliver smashes pumpkins in a dumpster at the Comer Corps Youth Farm in Grand Crossing, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
Joshua Williams, 16, throws a pumpkin as Janay Bussell, president at Gary Comer Youth Center’s Future Farmers of America, watches at the Comer Corps Youth Farm in Grand Crossing, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
Sandra Reno, urban agriculture grower at Comer Education Campus, reaches for a pumpkin that Fabian Kafarhie, 2, is holding at the Comer Corps Youth Farm in Grand Crossing, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
Camren Tolliver smashes pumpkins in a dumpster at the Comer Corps Youth Farm in Grand Crossing, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
Joshua Williams (right), 16, reacts as his friend removes a piece of pumpkin from his hair after he smashed pumpkins at the Comer Corps Youth Farm in Grand Crossing, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
London Lett, 10, throws a pumpkin into a dumpster at the Comer Corps Youth Farm in Grand Crossing, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
People step on pumpkins at the Comer Corps Youth Farm in Grand Crossing, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.