Category: Youth Development

Field & Fork Network is actively advocating for a $2 million annual appropriation in the state budget.  All state funding will be used to leverage additional federal funds, which require a 100% match, through the USDA’s Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive grant program. If we can secure state funding, that would mean an additional $4 million for New York families, farmers, and local communities. It will allow Double Up to expand to approximately 50 new sites across the state– reaching ~100,000+ new SNAP customers and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the program.

We continue to meet with state representatives who have expressed support for the program; Assemblymembers Demond Meeks, of Rochester, Donna Lupardo, of Binghamton, and Mark Walczyk committed to introducing a support letter. However, this is only the first step in a lengthy process, and we need your help!

If you are willing to help us, please click below so we can keep you updated with advocacy opportunities.AdkAction is a small but mighty nonprofit serving the rural communities of the Adirondack Park. With a shared vision of creating a more sustainable food system, they have been a strong partner and leader in their region; developing innovative ideas on how to address food insecurity. One example of this is the Fair Food Pricing Program. The program stemmed from their Emergency Food Boxes, which delivered a weekly box of 15 healthy fresh meals, sourced mostly from local farms for individuals facing food insecurity due to COVID 19. The boxes were a huge success, with more than 64,000 meals delivered.

Building off this success, they recently piloted the Fair Food Program, bringing locally produced food into reach for those hovering just above the poverty line. The program is open to anyone but gives qualified* households a discount code to take 30% off the price of farm fresh packages. In addition to the discount, SNAP recipients can use their EBT card and Double Up Food Bucks to pay for the packages. These food boxes do more than deliver fresh food; they create a connection between the food and the community, break down barriers and eliminate misconceptions. We hope to see more programs like this across the state.

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Groundwork Buffalo, Field & Fork Network and Grassroots Gardens are pleased to announce the Fresh Food Fellows: Urban Agriculture Entrepreneurship Program, a paid job training opportunity and certification program for Buffalo youth that will prepare the next generation of food and agriculture industry professionals for the workforce.

Over the course of six months, participants will gain employable and transferable job skills by learning how to grow, cultivate and sell produce in an urban environment. They will also accrue firsthand job experience through employment in real markets and receive ongoing support for career development.

“Our program aims to increase awareness of opportunities in the growing agricultural sector as well as create new opportunities within the local food system to support community health. This certification program frames urban agriculture as an entrepreneurial endeavor and will help to develop a new generation of food and agriculture professionals in Buffalo, generating a pipeline of skilled labor that connects youth to real job opportunities in the city and region,” said Antonina Simeti, executive director of Groundwork Buffalo.

The program, which will kick off in late March and run through August, brings three organizations together in partnership. Groundwork Buffalo will lead recruitment and program oversight efforts and connect the fellows to other youth and opportunities within their broader Green Team Youth Program; Field and Fork Network will adapt their Fresh Food Fellows educational curriculum to conduct classroom workshops on personal goal setting, resume writing, interview skills, workplace management, and business planning; and Grassroots Gardens will train participants in the cultivation, construction and operation of a market garden and farm stand.

“The Fresh Food Fellows project allows us to work collaboratively to create a partnership that is greater than the sum of its parts. Each of our organizations works to strengthen the local food system and urban agriculture landscape in complimentary ways, from the perspectives of land use, access, nutrition and community engagement, and this project allows us to bring our collective areas of expertise together to share with and empower youth,” said Melissa Fratello, executive director of Grassroots Gardens. “Market gardens are a unique tool to introduce participants to agriculture on an urban scale, while serving the needs of the community.”

Groundwork Market Garden, an urban farm that provides community members with organic, nutrient-rich produce to promote greater health and a connection to the local food system, and the African Heritage Co-operative Mobile Market, a membership-based co-op that helps the local community take ownership of its food and provide employment opportunities for itself, will act as employer partners. Youth will intern one to two days a week at these sites during the summer work portion of the program. Delavan-Grider Community Center will provide classroom space and serve as a home base for a new, nearby market garden.

The program is made possible by a two-year Green Jobs For Youth grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which aims to serve communities that face environmental justice and unemployment challenges.

Interested youth can find more information and learn how to apply for the program by contacting Johnnie Fenderson at [email protected]. The deadline for applications is Thursday, March 8, 2018.