CSU Chico’s Students for the advancement of Global has teamed up with Fresher Sacramento to promote teenage entrepreneurs and help end child hunger at the same time.

According to their website and pamphlets, SAGE is an international organization whose main goal is to educate and mentor teenage entrepreneurs through action.

The businesses are then judged by a panel of experts in regional, national and international tournaments to determine which one is the best financially, and which one is the best socially.

These panels often include members of the business world, who give the teens direct feedback on whether the businesses they created are excellent ideas or not.

The other half of this partnership, Fresher Sacramento, is a Sacramento organization with the goal of ensuring that the hungry in the city are fed, with a focus on children and teenagers.

According to their website and Facebook page, Fresher Sacramento allows neighborhoods to organize a community food plan, similar in nature to college food plans, and even choose who will be the chef in charge of the kitchen preparing this food.

The food is collected from local producers and then given to the chosen chef to be prepared by them and their team. The teams are made up of interested adults and students alike who wish to help in this endeavor.

This is all done so that lower-income neighborhoods, and the children that live in them, can have access to affordable, healthy food.

Dr. Curt DeBerg, the founder of SAGE and an instructor here at CSU Chico, explained how the latest partnership between Fresher Sacramento and SAGE came to be.

“I met the chief executive officer of Fresher Sacramento, Rabbi David Azen, at an event several years ago that was promoting social enterprise, held by Social Venture Partners,” said DeBerg. “After hearing what his organization was accomplishing in Sacramento, it seemed obvious to me that a partnership would be beneficial for both our groups.”

DeBerg continued by discussing what would be involved in this cooperation between SAGE and Fresher Sacramento.

“Fresher Sacramento has agreements to operate in several of the schools in Sacramento to ensure healthier food is available to the students,” he continued. “SAGE will be sending some of its student mentors to assist in the social ventures at four of these high schools. This way, the teens at the schools get help, and the student mentors get work experience.”

The high schools mentioned are Hiram Johnson, Luther Burbank, American Legion and Sacramento High

“We started right here in Chico State, myself and a small group of students. Now SAGE operates in 22 countries, and this latest venture with Fresher Sacramento will allow both groups to mentor and help even more youths in need.”

Andrew Freeman can be reached at [email protected] or at @Andrew_LFreeman on Twitter