Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Abraham, O.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
Just Food, Inc.
1155 Avenue of the Americas, Third Floor
New York, NEW YORK 10036

FARM SCHOOL NYC 2016-2019: ENHANCING EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES, RESOURCES, AND SUPPORT FOR BEGINNING URBAN FARMERS

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: In the poorest neighborhoods of New York City, more than 1 in 3 residents live in poverty. Low-income New Yorkers face tremendous challenges in finding fresh, affordable produce. Over the past decade, awareness of the impact food access has on the health of New Yorkers has increased and many more community-based organizations and grassroots groups are working on food access projects in neighborhoods throughout the city. A growing number of organizations, both nonprofit and for profit, are seeking to develop urban farm projects in order to address food access and food security needs in low income, low resource communities. In order to successfully manage and grow for these projects, these organizations are seeking professionally trained and experienced farm managers to run their projects.Farm School NYC offers training opportunities not only to existing agricultural operations and professionals, but for the aspiring urban farmers eager to engage in new ventures within the city limits. Launched in 2011, Farm School NYC will continue to serve this growing need by providing an agricultural training resource for New York City and the surrounding region, particularly for people living or working in the city's poorest areas: more than 50% of our student body are low-resourced. Farm School NYC offers hands-on, comprehensive, professional-level agricultural training for adults led by experienced urban farmers. Certificate students have up to five years to complete 1) 14 core courses comprising 320 hours of in-class instruction, about 60% of which is experiential, on-farm training, 2) 4 of 6 advanced courses offering more in-depth training in specialized skills such as animal husbandry and value-added product production and marketing, 3) a 140-hour, season-long farm apprenticeship, and 4) 40 volunteer hours to support Farm School NYC's work. Farm School NYC also offers many core courses to students not in the Certificate Program on an individual basis.The ultimate goal of Farm School NYC is to train the next generation of farmers for our city and beyond, with a focus on limited resource and socially disadvantaged individuals and communities, and to increase access to healthy, local food in urban communities by supporting the proliferation of urban agriculture projects. Our efforts will help create leaders who will transform our city and its food system, making them healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable for all.

OBJECTIVES: The goals of Farm School NYC are 1) to provide beginning urban farmers with the knowledge and skills to produce food sustainably and develop and manage innovative marketing activities and 2) to improve healthy food access and food security in low-income New York City communities. In order to achieve these goals, the objective of Farm School NYC is to provide high quality learning experiences and support networks for Farm School NYC students and alumni. While the program is open to all New York City gardeners, urban farmers, and other individuals who want to learn about growing food, the program's target audience is low-resource and socially disadvantaged students. The aim is that the student body will represent the full diversity of New York City. In order to achieve this objective, Farm School NYC and partners will pursue the following outcomes:Objective 1: 240-340 students gain knowledge and skills through courses to produce food sustainably and develop and manage innovative marketing activitiesObjective 2: 24-30 students gain more intensive on-farm training and an expedited certificate through the new Advanced Farming Track (AFT) in partnership with The Youth FarmObjective 3: 30-45 students gain in-depth, hands-on experience through 140-hour apprenticeships to produce food sustainably and develop and manage marketing activitiesObjective 4: 35-45 alumni gain additional information, skills, and networking opportunities to support their entry into farmingObjective 5: 60-90 regional farm apprentices and junior farm staff participate in the Northeast's first urban-based Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) programObjective 6: 21-30 low-resource students complete Farm School NYC certificate program

APPROACH: In order to evaluate our impact throughout the funding period and beyond, Farm School NYC will collect feedback surveys at the end of each course to gauge challenges and successes, as well as self-evaluations of student knowledge and proficiency of topics covered in courses. At the end of each year, the School will sponsor a meeting for staff, faculty, Advisory Board, partner organizations, students and alumni to engage in a joint evaluation of the project's progress, such as its efficacy in adequately training students for their needs and goals, providing a supportive path toward employment or business development, and faculty assessment. Issues to be discussed will include shared challenges, innovative solutions, identifying other groups or individuals who should be recruited to participate, possible barriers to participation, fundraising, administration, awareness of the public of Farm School NYC as a resource, and their vision for the future of Farm School NYC. In addition to the discussion, all participants will be asked to fill out a survey to prompt them to evaluate their experience as a Farm School NYC student.Farm School NYC Staff and Board plans to engage an external program evaluator to help refine existing collection methods and develop new tools to help us review progress. Farm School NYC staff and consultants will develop evaluation instruments, facilitate evaluation meetings, and analyze results to evaluate the following project efforts:Effort #1: Conduct courses to instruct beginning farmers to produce food sustainably and develop and manage innovative marketing activities.Target #: 240-340 studentsEvaluation Methods:Track number of students recruited and enrolled in certificate and individual courses and the number who complete certificate program.Survey certificate students in the both the regular and Advanced Farming Track as well as those taking individual courses before and after each course to assess individual goals and the knowledge and skills gained through courses to produce food sustainably and develop and manage innovative marketing activities.Evaluate in-course performance with assignments and assessmentsEffort #2: Offer students in-depth, hands-on experience through apprenticeships to produce food sustainably and to develop and manage innovative marketing activitiesTarget #: 30-45 studentsEvaluation Methods:Track # of students taking and completing apprenticeships and conduct student satisfaction surveys to assess apprenticeship experience. Survey apprenticeship sites.Effort #3: Develop an Alumni Network that provides additional information, skills, and networking opportunities to support their entry into farmingTarget #: 35-45 alumniEvaluation Methods:Track number of Farm School NYC alumni taking part in Alumni Network planning and those taking advantage of alumni support programming. Track number of students and alumni who gain agriculture-related employment or launch agriculture-based businesses. Survey Farm School NYC alumni on the quality and experience of alumni programming.Effort #4: Create a Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) program in the Northeast.Target #: 60-90 farm apprentices and junior farm staffEvaluation Methods:Track number of beginning farmers, particularly farm apprentices and junior staff, attending CRAFT sessions, and survey participants at the end of the season to assess quality of network building experiences and professional skills development. Survey and interview partner site hosts to determine change in capability to host a substantive CRAFT learning experience.Effort #5: Conduct outreach and develop supports to assist low resource students in completing Farm School NYC certificate program.Target #: 21-30 low-resource studentsEvaluation Methods:Track number of outlets (community partners, press, and social media) used to promote Farm School NYC. Track number of low-resource students (self-reporting) who apply to Farm School NYC before and after implementation of revamped outreach strategy. Track number of low-resource students who enroll in and complete certificate program. Survey low-resource students to get feedback on implementation of support systems.Effort #6: Provide training and support services to help beginning farmers gain new employment as farmers, or improve production and marketing practices on an existing farm they own or where they work.Target #: 36-57 studentsEvaluation Methods:Establish incoming students' work histories and assess their production and marketing capabilities.Track graduates' employment and production and marketing capabilities using surveys and phone interviews at regular intervals.Effort #7: Offer training and support services to help students launch agriculture-based businesses.Target #: 18-33 studentsEvaluation Methods:Track number of students and alumni launching ag-based businesses through surveys.

PROGRESS: 2016/08/15 TO 2017/08/14
Target Audience:Farm School NYC is committed to working with limited resource and socially disadvantaged New York City communities, and our outreach, selection and tuition strategies during the reporting period reflect that commitment. Working with partners such as the New York City Housing Authority, community-based organizations and emergency food providers, Farm School NYC reassessed our outreach strategy; and revised outreach material and conducted outreach to enroll a 2016 Certificate Programs cohort that is both racially, socioeconomically, and culturally diverse, and representative of communities that disproportionately suffer the impact of diet-related health disparities. Our 2016 cohort is 65% female, 16% gender nonconforming, 30% African American, 24% Latinx, and 11% Asian. Of our Citywide Certificate students, 80% are from households with limited resources eligible for our two most subsidized tuition levels. Having a student body that reflects the diversity of our city deepens learning experiences, creates stronger networks throughout New York City, and broadens the School's impact to reach more neighborhoods, communities and individuals. Farm School NYC will continue engaging our low-resource current and former students and alumni to understand how better to support them in completing our programs and lowering the barriers to entering the farming profession. This will strengthen both the quality of our programming and the urban farming movement as a whole. Changes/Problems:Students brought forth excellent constructive criticism of the new Farm Intensive Certificate Program, and we adopted new components mid-program based on their suggestions. These included providing students with garden boxes for individual experimentation with agricultural techniques; adding time for independent learning during the sessions; and providing time for students to harvest products on their own. These changes increased the students' autonomy and agency while providing mentorship and support, an important combination particularly when working with students who come from marginalized communities. Last year, our facilitators on the Youth Farm had little interaction with the Farm Intensive students until they arrived on the farm in April, yet students had been bonding with each other during the prior four months in winter courses. Farm School NYC and The Youth Farm are working on building more of a bridge for Farm Intensive Certificate Program students between winter core Farm School NYC courses and the arrival and beginning of hands on farm work at The Youth Farm based on student feedback. We are creating a clearer conflict resolution plan, and we will add this to our handbook for new students. We will add more time for discussion around food justice and racism in our Orientation, to help build more trust in the group with their farm facilitators. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As mentioned above, more than 90 students gained knowledge and skills through 14 Farm School NYC courses and two special short courses -- seed saving and a hands-on greenhouse build -- offered during the period. Thirty-three of these students comprise our 2016 Certificate Programs cohort. This cohort began taking courses in December 2016 with our Training of Trainers course, which introduces them to the popular education model that we integrate into all of our courses and encourage them to use as they share the knowledge they gain with their communities. The Food Justice course began in January and is critical to producing food sustainably and ethically in urban areas where racial and social injustice has caused health and wealth disparities. The cohort then completed our foundational Botany course before splitting in two groups according to their certificate programs -- the Farm Intensive Certificate Program students began their immersive, season-long training program on The Youth Farm in April, while the Citywide Certificate Program students continued with additional courses that combined on-farm, hands-on learning on weekends with weekday evening classes that allow full-time, working adults to attend. Additional courses the cohort completed during this reporting period included: Propagation (direct seeding, transplanting, asexual propagation) Growing Soils (soil science, soil testing, composting, amendments) Irrigation (assessing plant watering needs, building and repairing drip systems) NYC as an Ecosystem (geology, hydrology and history of our region) Crop Management (crop planning, crop rotation, companion planting, intercropping, harvesting) Plant Health (introduction to IPM, recordkeeping, organic solutions to pest and disease) In addition, students in the Farm Intensive Certificate Program attended the following trainings and field trips, totaling of 56.5 hours of training: Propagation, Youth Farm practices: 1.5 hrs Propagation Basics (Parts of a seed, Germination requirements, Soil mixes, Structures and Materials): 2 hrs Soil Physical properties - 2 hrs Bed Preparation: Low Till techniques: 1.5 hrs Irrigation Part 1: Testing Soil Moisture - 1 hr Basic Tool Care and Maintenance: 1 hr Transplanting Annual Crops 101: 2 hrs Irrigation Part 2: Hands on assembly and use of various systems (2 hrs) Irrigation Part 3: Why Water? (Evaporation, Transevaporation, Etc.) (2.5 hrs) Soil Science: Chemical Properties of Soil (2.5 hrs) Parts of a Crop Plan (2 hrs) Agricultural History, Communities to Corporations (2 hrs) Hows and Whys of Compost (2 hrs) LEAN-ing the Farm (2 hrs) CSA History and Models (2.5 hrs) IPM Part 1: About IPM, Common Pests and Diseases (1.5 hrs) Market Training: Common NYC Market Payment systems and Difficult Dynamics (2 hrs) Bouquet Making Basics (1.5 hrs) Post Harvest Handling for Vegetables and Flowers (2 hrs) Farming Along the Political Spectrum (1.5 hrs) IPM Part 2: Field Study - Observation and Identification (1.5 hrs) Dream Farm Planning: Non Profit vs. For Profit Models (2 hrs) Carpentry 101 (2 hrs) Direct Marketing: Choosing a Market (1.5 hrs) Mushroom Cultivation Workshop using Spores (1.5 hrs) Season Extension (1.5 hrs) Dream Farm Planning: Building a Budget that Fits your Life (2.5 hrs) Cover Cropping and Amending (2 hrs) Mushroom Madness: all about Mushrooms, botany, physiological characteristics, etc. (2 hrs) Cut Flower Production + Flower Justice (1.5 hrs) Whys and Hows of Record Keeping + Analysis of YF Record Keeping Systems (2 hrs) Cucumber trellising and pruning (1 hr) Brassicas Kick Assica and Have All the Sassica" (1 hr) Tomato trellising and pruning (2 hrs) All About Garlic! (1.5 hrs) In this program, highly motivated students interested in both sustainable agriculture and social justice take three of Farm School NYC's foundation courses -- Food Justice, Botany and Training of Trainers -- and then spend a full growing season at The Youth Farm. The goal of the Farm Intensive Certificate (FIC) is to provide students with an immersive production farming experience. FIC students are actively involved in every stage of producing an acre of food and flowers for the farm's various markets; a 30-member vegetable CSA (Community Supported Agriculture program), a 25-member flower CSA, a weekly farm stand and several restaurant accounts. Students are trained in sustainable/low-till/agro-ecological farming skills through a blend of hands on work, formal workshops, discussion, and field trips. Students also completed a carpentry project on their own.Farm Intensive Certificate students also completed field trips to the following urban and rural farms: BK Rot, Brooklyn, NY New Roots - IRC Farm, Bronx, NY Kelly Street Garden, Bronx, NY Libertad Urban Farm, Queens, NY La Finca del Sur, Bronx, NY Four Winds Farm, Chester, NY Rock Steady Farm and Flowers, Chester, NY Earth Matter, Governor's Island, NY How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Farm School NYC has shared updates with students, faculty and supports through monthly newsletters and our website features. As our CRAFT program and our alumni program evolve during the course of our grant period, we will create best practice guides to share with the larger agricultural education community. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Outcome #1:150-240 students gain knowledge & skills through courses to produce food sustainably & develop & manage innovative marketing activities. Output: 90-115 regular & AFT certificate students & 150-225 non-certificate students participate in Farm School NYC courses. With guidance from external evaluator, assess student recruitment & course effectiveness. (Staff, consultant) Continue to refine materials & implement citywide/regional student recruitment marketing plan. (Staff, partners, Board) Continue to select new certificate program cohorts (Staff, outreach partners, & Board) Coordinate/teach 20 classes at community gardens, urban farms, regional farms, etc.. (Staff/faculty) Outcome #2: 24-30 students gain more intensive on-farm training & an expedited certificate through the new Farm Intensive Certificate program in partnership with The Youth Farm. Output: 24-30 students complete 480 hours of fieldwork & 207 hours of classroom learning. Continue to refine materials & implement citywide/regional student recruitment marketing plan. (Staff, partners, Board) Select new program cohorts (Staff, outreach partners, & Board) Coordinate/teach 5 classes & 30 workshops at Youth Farm. (staff/faculty) With external evaluator, track number of students recruited & skills gained.* (Staff, consultant) Outcome #3: 30-45 students gain in-depth, hands-on experience through apprenticeships to produce food sustainably & develop & manage innovative marketing activities. Output: 30-45 students participate in high quality apprenticeship experiences Continue to assess current Farm School NYC apprenticeship programming. (Staff & partners, alumni, Board) Continue to research best practices for apprenticeship management. (Staff) Develop resources to support community partners/apprenticeship hosts in apprenticeship management. Implement & evaluate new resources. (Staff, project partners, & Board) Develop new & manage existing relationships with 20-35 community partners. (Staff & Board) Coordinate Farm School apprenticeship activities for 10-15 second year students each year. (Staff) With guidance from external evaluator, assess & refine new apprenticeship strategies. (Staff)a Outcome #4: 35-45 alumni gain additional information, skills, & networking opportunities to support their entry into farming. Output: Resources, educational programming & networking opportunities developed for alumni. Survey 15-25 alumni & 30-40 students to assess current & potential School alumni needs in collaboration with external evaluator. (Staff & consultant) Continue to research alumni resources/support in farmer education programs, including BFRDP grantees. (Staff) Begin to develop and implement strategies to provide additional support to School alumni, which may include: listserv development, continuing education & networking opportunities. (Staff & Board) With guidance from external evaluator, assess & refine support strategies implemented.* Staff, Consultant & Board) Outcome #5: 60-90 Local farm apprentices & junior farm staff participate in the first urban Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) program in the Northeast. Output: 60-90 new farmers participate, 10-15 partner sites gain capacity to host high quality CRAFT experiences. Continue to coordinate network of 15-20 NYC-area urban farms that host apprentices. (Staff, project partners) Coordinate & integrate curriculum development with participating farms for 8-10 farmer- & apprentice-led CRAFT events per year. (Staff & partners) Continue to support city-wide beginning farmers with networking & education opportunities. (Staff & partners) Evaluate curriculum, networking & continuing education opportunities using surveys, feedback meetings & other tools suggested by external evaluator. (Program staff, consultant, Board) Outcome #6: 20-30 low-resource students complete Farm School NYC certificate program. Output: Improved strategy to recruit low-resource students implemented in the Northeast. Output: 20-30 low-resource certificate students receive support strategies & systems. 21-30 graduate from the program. Survey current & former low-resource students. (Staff & Board) Identify barriers & challenges to low- resource student retention. (Staff) Research & implement strategies to help 10-15 low-resource students complete the certificate. (Staff) Assess the School's communications strategy. Update website. (Staff & Board) Continue to conduct outreach through networks & mailing lists, including the School's (3,000+), Youth Farm (3,000+) & City Parks Community Gardening Division-Green Thumb (20,000+). (Staff, partners, listservs) Continue to identify appropriate community partners, press & social media outlets, & promote the School to reach target audience. (Staff, outreach partners, & Board) Refine outreach materials (i.e. flyers, brochures, ads). (Staff) Promote the School at 5 community events & conferences. (Staff, partners, & Board) With external evaluator, track # of low-resource students in program & other metrics. (Staff, consultant)

IMPACT: 2016/08/15 TO 2017/08/14
What was accomplished under these goals? Farm School NYC had an exciting year since the start of our USDA BFRDP grant in August 15, 2016, laying important foundations to achieve our ultimate goal to create leaders who will transform our city and its food system, making them healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable for all. Our objective is to provide high quality learning experiences and support networks for Farm School NYC students and alumni. During this first year of our grant, Farm School NYC and our partners have made significant progress toward the following outcomes: Objective #1: 240-340 students gain knowledge and skills through courses to produce food sustainably and develop and manage innovative marketing activities More than 90 students gained knowledge and skills through 14 Farm School NYC courses and two special short courses -- seed saving and a hands-on greenhouse build -- offered during the period. Thirty-three of these students comprise our 2016 Certificate Programs cohort. This cohort began taking courses in December 2016 with our Training of Trainers course, which introduces them to the popular education model that we integrate into all of our courses and encourage them to use as they share the knowledge they gain with their communities. The Food Justice course began in January and is critical to producing food sustainably and ethically in urban areas where racial and social injustice has caused health and wealth disparities. The cohort then completed our foundational Botany course before splitting in two groups according to their certificate programs -- the Farm Intensive Certificate Program students began their immersive, season-long training program on The Youth Farm in April, while the Citywide Certificate Program students continued with additional courses that combined on-farm, hands-on learning on weekends with weekday evening classes that allow full-time, working adults to attend. Objective 2: 24-30 students gain more intensive on-farm training and an expedited certificate through the new Advanced Farming Track (AFT) in partnership with The Youth Farm We began the period with the creation and launch the new Advanced Farming Track, which we named the Farm Intensive Certificate in Urban Agriculture program, the result of the new partnership between Farm School NYC and The Youth Farm enabled by this grant. The Farm Intensive Certificate Program is a combination of three core Farm School NYC courses, and a 7 month urban farm training developed by the Youth Farm, formerly called the Urban Farm Training Program, which has run each season since 2012. We worked to develop the program after receiving confirmation of funding from the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program in May 2016, opened applications for new students on August 1, 2016, and accepted our first cohort of 12 students in November 2016. Our 2016 cohort will be graduating from the program in December 2017. The program is already producing new farm work opportunities for students: 6 students were hired for or offered jobs related to horticulture and farming during the program! Objective 3: 30-45 students gain in-depth, hands-on experience through 140-hour apprenticeships to produce food sustainably and develop and manage marketing activities Our apprenticeships are offered to second-year students in our Citywide Certificate Program. Our 2016 cohort is now exploring and applying to the 20+ options for apprenticeship sites for the next growing season. During this reporting period, Farm School NYC forged new and enhanced prior relationships with farms in and around New York City to offer a greater diversity of experiences from which our students could choose, including several sites that offer stipends for apprentices. We look forward to working closely with these sites in 2018 to learn how we can support them in mentoring our students and immersing them in their farm operations. Objective 4: 35-45 alumni gain additional information, skills, and networking opportunities to support their entry into farming During this reporting period, Farm School NYC began to plan for enhanced alumni programming by adding a comprehensive initiative to contact and gather information from alumni to our evaluation plan. We are working with our external evaluator to implement a participatory evaluation process in which our current students will interview Farm School NYC alumni to document their current farm and food system-related activities and learn about their needs and desires for continued education and networking. Farm School NYC will add 10 additional graduates to its alumni roster in December 2017, bringing its total alumni count over 30. We are excited about using information gained through the participatory evaluation process to develop targeted programming to support our alumni's entry and establishment as farmers and food systems professionals. Objective 5: 60-90 regional farm apprentices and junior farm staff participate in the Northeast's first urban-based Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) program CRAFT is a cooperative effort of local organic and biodynamic farms organized to enhance educational opportunities for farm apprentices through a variety of workshops and farm visits. Rural communities across the country have organized CRAFT programs, but training programs have not been conducted in urban areas. Farm School NYC was proud to launch the first urban-based CRAFT program in the 2017 growing season with the support from the BFRDP grant. Initial planning began in early January 2017 with members of the Urban Farm Alliance, a group of growers who have shared resources and trainings in years past. Farm School met with various members and farm managers for an initial meeting on January 24, 2017 to express common interests and goals. Connor Vaughn, Farm School NYC's program coordinator, coordinated outreach, planning, and tracking CRAFT workshops. As of August 14, 2017, six of the 11 total workshops for 2017 had been held with more than 40 participants, 34 of whom were NYC-based junior farm staff and apprentices not enrolled in Farm School NYC's Certificate Programs or courses, extending our reach. Objective 6: 21-30 low-resource students complete Farm School NYC certificate program Farm School NYC is committed to working with limited resource and socially disadvantaged New York City communities, and our outreach, selection and tuition strategies during the reporting period reflect that commitment. Working with partners such as the New York City Housing Authority, community-based organizations and emergency food providers, Farm School NYC reassessed our outreach strategy; and revised outreach material and conducted outreach to enroll a 2016 Certificate Programs cohort that is both racially, socioeconomically, and culturally diverse, and representative of communities that disproportionately suffer the impact of diet-related health disparities. Our 2016 cohort is 65% female, 16% gender nonconforming, 30% African American, 24% Latinx, and 11% Asian. Of our Citywide Certificate students, 80% are from households with limited resources eligible for our two most subsidized tuition levels (see our tuition level chart in the Student Handbook in the Materials section of this report.) Having a student body that reflects the diversity of our city deepens learning experiences, creates stronger networks throughout New York City, and broadens the School's impact to reach more neighborhoods, communities and individuals. Farm School NYC will continue engaging our low-resource current and former students and alumni to understand how better to support them in completing our programs and lowering the barriers to entering the farming profession. This will strengthen both the quality of our programming and the urban farming movement as a whole.

PUBLICATIONS: 2016/08/15 TO 2017/08/14
No publications reported this period.