Harvest Co-op Markets, a community-owned food retailer with stores in Cambridge and Jamaica Plain, has awarded $6,500 to three local nonprofit organizations: The Food Project; the Cambridgeport Parent Teacher Organization; and Mass Farmers Markets.

“All the original applicants were very deserving of support,” says Andrew Kessel, a Harvest Co-op board member. “We created criteria and listened to our members and communities before choosing the final recipients.” Harvest reviewed feedback on the award process from both the membership and the community, including through a Facebook survey.

The Food Project will use its award to support a local youth program that teaches about food systems and volunteering on farms. Cambridgeport Parent Teacher Organization plans to use its funds to support a City Sprouts food garden at the Cambridgeport School. Mass Farmers Markets is using the award to help hire and train market benefits coordinators within farmers’ markets, so that recipients of federal and state food aid can shop at the markets.

Harvest Co-op locations: 581 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge 02139, 617-661-1580; and 57 South St., Jamaica Plain 02130, 617-524-1667. For more information, contact Chris Durkin at [email protected] or 617-661-1580, ext. 132. Also visit HarvestCoop.com.