The Food Project - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Food Project is a non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

that employs teenagers on farms in Lincoln

Lincoln, Massachusetts

Lincoln is a town in the historic area of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,362 at the 2010 census, including residents of Hanscom Air Force Base that live within town limits...

, Roxbury

Roxbury, Massachusetts

Roxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...

and the North Shore

North Shore (Massachusetts)

The North Shore is a region in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, loosely defined as the coastal area between Boston and New Hampshire. The region is made up both of a rocky coastline, dotted with marshes and wetlands, as well as several beaches and natural harbors. The North Shore is an important...

of Massachusetts. It focuses on community improvement and outreach, and education about health, leadership, charity, and sustainable agriculture

Sustainable agriculture

Sustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment...

. The youth are recruited from urban areas of Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Lynn

Lynn, Massachusetts

Lynn is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 89,050 at the 2000 census. An old industrial center, Lynn is home to Lynn Beach and Lynn Heritage State Park and is about north of downtown Boston.-17th century:...

, and surrounding suburbs to plant and harvest crops for sale at Farmers' Markets and CSA

Community-supported agriculture

Community-supported agriculture, a form of an alternative food network, is a socio-economic model of agriculture and food distribution. A CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farming operation where the growers and consumers share the risks and benefits of food...

s, and donation to local hunger-relief organizations and homeless shelters. The program emphasizes community building

Community building

Community building is a field of practices directed toward the creation or enhancement of community among individuals within a regional area or with a common interest...

and fosters good work ethic, providing a good foundation for future employment.

History

Founded in 1991 by Ward Cheney, a local farmer and educator, the Food Project (sometimes abbreviated as TFP) is a non-profit organization committed to bringing youth together from the urban neighborhoods of Boston

Boston

and the surrounding suburbs. The stated mission of The Food Project is:

Program overview

The core of The Food Project's program is employment of youth on farms in Lincoln and Roxbury, called the Summer Youth Program. Participants are hired in the Spring, with equal representation from the city and nearby suburbs, and are divided into crews of about 10 crew workers, an assistant crew leader and a crew leader. The program is 8 weeks long (now 6.5 due to budget), beginning in late June and ending in August to coincide with the Massachusetts public school calendar. There is also an academic year program and an internship program, both of which run throughout the year, though with fewer participants than the Summer Program.

While The Food Project is an employer, the experience it offers youth is far more extensive than most jobs. Throughout the summer, regular workshops are held to discuss community building

Community building

Community building is a field of practices directed toward the creation or enhancement of community among individuals within a regional area or with a common interest...

, urban improvement, sustainable agriculture

Sustainable agriculture

Sustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment...

, and a wide variety of other related topics. Activities are designed to engage participants in discourse centered around particular themes. Educators are often recruited to lead these activities, which can include brainstorming, group discussion and journal writing. Flip charts, or large pads of paper mounted on easels, have become notoriously ubiquitous within the organization as a tool for these group discussions.

Crews are rotated throughout the growing season so each has experience working on the farms in Lincoln and Roxbury. In addition to doing farmwork and harvesting, all crews also work in local hunger-relief institutions like the Pine Street Inn, ReVision House and Urban Farm and Rosie's Place

Rosie's Place

Rosie’s Place is a sanctuary for poor and homeless women located in Boston, Massachusetts.- History :It was founded in 1974, by Kip Tiernan and was the first shelter specifically for poor and homeless women in the United States...

, where they help serve food cooked from the vegetables they grow. Using this paradigm, summer crew workers experience all aspects of their labor, from planting and harvesting to food donation.

The program also emphasizes good workplace practices by putting crew workers in unusually responsible roles. Feedback or "Straight Talk" is an important tool and members within a crew give each other feedback in the form of compliments and "deltas", or points for improvement.

Community lunches have also become a summer tradition at the Lincoln farms. Each week, a local chef or caterer is invited to cook lunch for crew workers, staff, parents and friends using vegetables grown and harvested by crews. Several noted chefs from Boston, Cambridge and surrounding areas have cooked at community lunches and have helped bring about a high level of awareness about the program.

Program structure

Participants are grouped into crews of 10 Crew Workers and are led by a Crew Leader. The Crew Leader is usually slightly older, around college age, and sometimes has had prior experience in the Food Project. Each crew also has an Assistant Crew Leader who helps lead the crew and is typically a returning Crew Worker. Each site has a Site Supervisor that oversees the function of the farm and manages the Crew Leaders. There are also several Growers who are knowledgeable in aspects of agriculture and organic farming and who advise and help maintain the lots. There are also several interns that help with the management and function of the program.

Hiring for all positions requires a formal application and interview, given once a year in the early Spring for summer crew workers. The application process can be somewhat selective as the program is popular, although the program deeply emphasizes diversity and a sense of inclusiveness, and all are encouraged to apply.

Program sites

The Food Project has two plots of land in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and several in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The North Shore branch has a 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) farm in Lynn and a 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) farm in Beverly. The main offices for The Food Project are located in Lincoln Center.

Community Supported Agriculture

One of the main tenets of The Food Project is that the land that the program uses is a part of the community and therefore must be integrated. One of the innovative ways in which this is accomplished is through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), an agricultural model founded in Japan (teikei

Teikei

is a system of community-supported agriculture in Japan, where consumers purchase food directly from farmers. Teikei is closely associated with small-scale, local, organic farming, and volunteer-based, non-profit partnerships between producers and consumers. Millions of Japanese consumers...

) and implemented in the U.S. by Indian Line Farm, in Massachusetts. In this model, local consumers buy a share of the farm's harvest. Produce from the harvest is then distributed at the farm to shareholders up to a defined limit. Selection and volume depends on the time of year, but freshness is frequently unmatched by standard retail vendors because the food can be consumed immediately after harvesting.

The Food Project's 400 member CSA Farm Share program offers fresh vegetables, herbs and flowers and has pickup locations in Lincoln, Cambridge, Somerville, Arlington and Jamaica Plain. They publish a CSA Newsletter which is distributed to all shareholders weekly. Additionally, shareholders can harvest their produce themselves from specially designated plots at certain Food Project growing sites.

Program milestones

1991: Founded by Ward Cheney in conjunction with the Massachusetts Audubon Society

Massachusetts Audubon Society

The Massachusetts Audubon Society, founded in 1896 by Harriet Hemenway and headquartered in Lincoln, Massachusetts, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "Protecting the nature of Massachusetts." Mass Audubon is independent of the National Audubon Society, and in fact was founded...

.

1992: First growing season funded with $100,000 and farmed on a 2.5 acres (10,117.2 m²) plot on Drumlin Farm in Lincoln.

1995: Groundbreaking of the half-acre Langdon Street Lot in Roxbury.

1996: First growing season for the Langdon Street Lot.

1997: West Cottage Street Lot is cleared by summer crew workers and land is prepared for growing.

1998: A video, two books and many manuals document The Food Project's program and philosophy. The Rooted in Community Network is also co-founded.

2001: A neighborhood gardener lends some land, an undeveloped lot blocks away from the other two sites on Albion Street in Roxbury. Remediation completes in 2001 and growing begins in 2002.

2003: The Food Project launches BLAST, an international initiative focusing on the next generation of leaders, farmers and practitioners in food systems work.

2008: Partnering with the City of Boston, The Food Project pioneers the use of EBT/SNAP/food stamps at its farmers markets with a program called Boston Bounty Bucks.

2010: The Food Project receives a $600,000 stimulus grant from the Obama administration. US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius visits Boston land.

Other activities

In 2004, The Food Project was supported by the Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...

through a donation of tickets to their Varekai

Varekai

Varekai is a Cirque du Soleil touring production that premiered in Montréal in April 2002. Its title means "wherever" in the Romani language, and the show is an "acrobatic tribute to the nomadic soul"....

Benefit performance at Suffolk Downs

Suffolk Downs

Suffolk Downs, a thoroughbred race track in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States opened in 1935. Famous horses that have raced at this track include Seabiscuit, Whirlaway, Funny Cide and Cigar. The MassCap is held there, as well at the annual Hot Dog Safari...

in Boston. Because of the show's history and origins in youth street performing, the donation was a sign of continued support to youth programs.

In 2005, The Food Project won the Mayor's Award for Excellence in Children's Health, given by the Boston Mayor's Office, the Harvard School of Public Health

Harvard School of Public Health

The Harvard School of Public Health is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill, which is next to Harvard Medical School. HSPH is considered a significant school focusing on health in the...

(HSPH), and Children's Hospital Boston

Children's Hospital Boston

Children's Hospital Boston is a 396-licensed bed children's hospital in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area of Boston, Massachusetts.At 300 Longwood Avenue, Children's is adjacent both to its teaching affiliate, Harvard Medical School, and to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute...

Support

The Food Project receives support from a variety of local and national private foundations, corporations, nonprofits, government agencies, and other institutions. The program is also heavily supported by a growing group of devoted individuals and families.

External links

The Food Project Click here to view The Food Project's main site and access news, contact info, and application information for prospective crew workers.
The Food Project Blog for weekly updates from the fields
EarthNews Radio podcast about The Food Project
TreeHugger.com article on The Food Project

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