TROY -- Chris Dickson hadn't tended a garden since his family's dog dug up their backyard patch awhile back, but the 16-year-old Troy High student was intrigued last year when he heard about a new program being offered through his school.

The Produce Project, a component of the 35-year-old Capital District Community Gardens, gives at-risk Troy High School students the opportunity to earn cash and course credit to work 10 hours per week growing produce in CDCG's garden plots and Troy greenhouse and helping sell it at farmers markets.

Now in his second year with the Produce Project, Dickson is among 10 students who are spending this academic year helping to raise numerous types of fruits and vegetables, including greens, tomatoes, root vegetables, squash, pumpkins, peas and beans.

"We grow so many. I couldn't tell you exactly -- dozens, at least," said Dickson.

Assisted by CDCG staffers and outside experts, students provide manual labor and receive training in the practice and theory of growing food, the science of soil composition and growth rates and the perils of pests.

"It's a different way for them to improve math and science skills in a hands-on fashion and advance in their education pursuits," said Amy Klein, executive director of the Troy-based Capital District Community Gardens. The not-for-profit organization manages 46 cooperative neighborhood food gardens in Albany, Rensselaer and Schenectady counties and operates other programs designed to address food accessibility, sustainability and urban-gardening concerns. The year-old Produce Project is the organization's first program to use raising food as a way to help students with job training and academic performance. It's also the pilot program for a future effort that will use a similar structure to train hard-to-employ adults, Klein said.

The CDCG's Produce Project was a recipient this year of a $5,000 grant from the Times Union Hope Fund, which raises money to benefit after-school and summer-camp programs for poor or at-risk children around the Capital Region. This fall, the fund awarded $42,000 to 10 organizations, grants that typically translate to more children attending programs for free.

Another Produce Project student employee, Antonio Cachola, a 16-year-old Troy High sophomore, is new to the program this year and is excited by what he's learned.

"I've planted stuff like thyme and (other) herbs before," Cachola said, "but I've never really worked with food like this. I think it's really cool."

While neither he nor Dickson foresees becoming a vegetable farmer or otherwise being involved with food as a profession, both appreciate the savvy they're developing about what they eat and the challenges of its growth. Cachola also enjoys discovering new foods and expanding his palate.

"I found out I really like Swiss chard," he said. "I'd never heard of it before, but I use it now when I cook at home."

Steve Barnes can be reached at 454-5489 or by e-mail at sbarnes@timesunion.com. Visit his blog at http://blogs.timesunion.com/tablehopping.