Community Food System Summer Apprenticeship

View the project final report

Commodities

Practices

• Education and Training: farmer to farmer, mentoring, networking, participatory research, youth education
• Farm Business Management: apprentice/intern training, cooperatives
• Sustainable Communities: analysis of personal/family life, ethnic differences/cultural and demographic change, leadership development, social capital, social networks, urban agriculture

High school-aged youth will participate in paid summer apprenticeship to deepen their work with community food systems. These youth are already connected through their high school's environmental club, LEAP, to Bandhu Gardens' Community Farm that will host the program . We will be involving youth in other facets of the farm's management, such as harvest, sales and community building. Many of these youth have home gardens, but do not yet see agriculture as a viable career path. Through meeting other farmers and traveling to farmers market and conference, they will be exposed to diverse options for their food futures. 

1. Expose youth to diverse farmers who also hold off farm jobs- arborist, teacher, accountant, chef, activist.
2. Increase food work skills- growing, harvesting, weighing, selling, bookkeeping
3. Learn about culturally specific sustainable agriculture practices from immigrant and indigenous farmers. 
4. Introduce students to other areas of the city and state that they have not been to (Eastern Market, weekly, and Traverse City for Small Farms conference) 
5. Deepen the appreciation that youth have for the value of knowing (or being!) your farmer and having access to high-quality, culturally-relevant foods.