* A videographer with his/her own equipment: We’d like to document the progress of our summer youth crews, but we need someone to shoot the footage!
* A graphic designer: We’ve got some exciting events coming up and we’d love help designing a flyer to get the word out
* Chefs: We’ve already got some stellar cooking presentations lined up for our summer youth program, but we’d love some more!

Field Day!
We’re celebrating summer with a workshop/workday/potluck on July 10 from 10-2. NFI Intern and soil science extraordinaire Tommy Pyne will lead a compost Q&A, followed by an extra special compost sorting session. We’ll join the rest of the community garden in general garden cleanup, then we’ll potluck!

Wanna help out? We’re meeting on June 30 at 6:30pm. Email neighborhoodfarm@gmail.com for more details!

Save the Date: NFI Movie Screening and Dinner
We’ll host a screening of the short film Corner Plot and a very special harvest dinner on August 12 at Letelier Theater. More details to come, but mark your calendars now!

Many of you in the DC and Central PA areas know of Keswick Creamery– if not by name, then by their yogurt, their infamous Dragons Breath pepperjack, or by their seemingly endless buffet of samples at their stands at the Dupont Circle, Takoma Park, Bloomingdale, FreshFarm White House, H St. NE, and Carlisle farmers markets.

Like so many small family farmers and dairy farmers across the country, Mel and Mark Dietrich Cochran are on the verge of losing their farm. But it’s not that business has been slow– they’re actually growing and getting lots of great press– but Mel’s parents are divorcing, and her father is looking to quickly cash out his half of the farm. If Mel and Mark don’t raise $300,000 by September 1st to buy out their share, the cows, machinery, and land will be put up for auction, meaning that not only would Mel and Mark lose their livelihood, but that the family would be forced off the land that’s been their home for 40 years.

I’ve had the joy of working for Mel and Mark at farmers markets in the DC area for the past two years, in which time they’ve become both close friends and mentors as I’ve pursued my own career in food access and sustainable ag. Not only do they run an inspiring business model and make the best chocolate pudding around, but Mark and Mel are also passionate activists working literally around the clock to up the quotient of sustainable deliciousness throughout the Mid-Atlantic area.

For years, they’ve been active members and board members of the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) and the Takoma Park Farmers Market, and recently founded a thriving cooperative called Natural Newburg to help bring goods from six neighboring sustainable family farms to the Philadelphia area.

So many of us work to promote sustainable agriculture, effectively working to increase numbers of thriving small family farms. This is an opportunity to come together to save one particular family farm that has given so much to our communities. Mel and Mark have decided to fundraise through the principles of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). By participating in this program, you wouldn’t just be helping them out, but you’d also be guaranteed years of incredible cheese for yourself or as gifts. Pretty win-win.


Please check out their website for details, and forward widely!

Thank you in advance for your consideration. And come visit us at one of our markets this week!

With gratitude,
Michele Levy

Seed it

This spring, we’ve been joined by a ton of amazing volunteers, including groups from the USDA, the Latin American Youth Center, KPMG and George Washington University’s MBA program.

Weed it: Volunteer Teshome tackles the weeds in the fennel field

Now we’re gearing up for the arrival of our Green Summer teen teams at the end of June. Along with the DC Department of Environment, DC Parks & Recreation, the Washington Youth Garden, & Thurgood Marshall Academy, we’ll train five teams of (12) 14-15 year-olds in green job skills related to urban agriculture: basic nutrition education, food preparation skills, and basic marketing. NFI will be overseeing teams at our garden site near Fort Totten (Ward 5), and at Lederer Youth Gardens in Deanwood (Ward 7).

Eat it

Although we won’t be hosting regular volunteer days until August, you’re still invited to come learn and enjoy our space. Our first Field Day of this growing season is July 10 from 10-2. Email neighborhoodfarm@gmail.com for more information or to join our email list.

Students in NFI's Gardening Education Program learn to grow their own vegetables

And our Gardening Education Program continues: Program Director Bea Trickett teaches our season-long hands-on gardening class, where first-time gardeners learn the fundamentals of organic gardening.

Our volunteers make our little farm work.

None of it is possible without energetic, engaged volunteers. From hauling compost to creating a database, we’re incredibly grateful for the time that the people of DC have donated to our project. Email neighborhoodfarm@gmail.com if you’d like to join us!

Cross-posted at DC Food for All

The Neighborhood Farm Initiative seeks Volunteer Assistant Team Leaders to grow vegetables with teens! Deadline for applications is today!
NFI is looking for Volunteer Assistant Team Leaders to work with the NFI Team Leader and our 12-person summer youth team. The Assistant Team Leaders will help monitor the space, provide instruction and supervision, build relationships with youth, and assist with general garden maintenance.
We’re looking for volunteers who can commit to one day per week for 5 hours each week for the duration of the program, which runs Monday-Friday from June 28 through August 20 2010. Volunteer shifts will be between 8:30-1:30 on weekdays. Please send a note describing your interest and experience with organic gardening and/or working with youth, plus 2 professional or academic references to NFI Volunteer Coordinator Liz Whitehurst at NeighborhoodFarm@gmail.com by May 17.

On June 3, 2010, participating schools across the District of Columbia (including all of DCPS) will serve fresh, locally-grown strawberries and salad greens in their school lunches as part of a celebration organized by the D.C. Farm to School Network. The Network will help interested schools set up tables in school cafeterias with plants, farm pictures, and props to remind students where their food comes from. Schools can also organize field trips, chef demonstrations, and other activities to celebrate the healthy, fresh, local foods available in the springtime!

How can you get involved?

Parents & Teachers – Make sure your school will serve fresh, local strawberries and salad greens on June 3rd. Work with the D.C. Farm to School Network to have a “Where Food Comes From” table in your cafeteria that day – email Andrea at andrea@dcfarmtoschool.org to request one! Incorporate lessons about local, sustainable strawberries and salad greens into your lessons. Organize other fun activities like field trips or chef demos for students – visit www.dcfarmtoschool.org/strawberries for tools, resources, sample promotional materials and contact information.

Chefs & Garden Educators - Would you like to come into a classroom on June 3rd and do a cooking or gardening demonstration with students? Contact a school you know, or Andrea at andrea@dcfarmtoschool.org to connect with an interested school.

Volunteers – We’re looking for volunteers to visit school cafeterias and set up tables with plants, pictures and props to get kids excited about fresh, local strawberries and salad greens. Click here to learn more and sign up.

Capital Area Food Bank is gearing up for this season’s Grow A Row project! Grow A Row is a way for gardeners to Gardeners throughout the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area are encouraged to grow and donate produce to local community organizations that serve people in need. Whether you grow an extra row, dig up your entire yard, or organize a collective donation from your community garden, we appreciate your contribution! Contact us to participate and we will work with you to determine the best way to distribute your produce to the community. For more information or to participate, contact growarow@capitalareafoodbank.org.

Sign your group up for a summer visit to the Washington Youth Garden. We are now accepting applications for summer camps and other youth groups to participate in our SPROUT field trip program. WYG staff facilitates a ninety minute garden and nutrition based education program for all ages. We are located at the U.S. National Arboretum, 446 acres of green space perfect for additional exploring on a summer day. Please fill out and return this reservation form t. Please note: this program is for schools and organizations, individuals and families can explore our public garden anytime.

The Neighborhood Farm Initiative Volunteer Workdays: NFI hosts volunteer workdays every Wednesday from 4:30-7 and every Saturday from 9-1. No experience necessary and no need to RSVP – just show up and get your hands dirty! We can also arrange other workdays with large groups. Our small urban farm is walking distance from the Fort Totten metro station. Email neighborhoodfarm@gmail.com to sign up for our email list!

I am the co-facilitator of a 5th grade class program called “Project Poverty” at Ferebee Hope Public School in Southeast Washington D.C. The class is funded by Serve DC and Learn and Serve, and it is administered through a non-profit organization called Communities in Schools of the Nation’s Capital. Each Tuesday, myself and another facilitator educate the students about different aspects of poverty, how it relates to their community, and what they can do to fight it.

Our class has recently completed a service learning project on hunger and healthy food access in the DC community. The letter writing campaign focused on informing media outlets and local representatives about the problem of hunger and lack of access to healthy food in Southeast DC.

As the summer approaches, we are interested in trying to start a community garden at our school to promote the improvement of community access to healthy food and bringing an end to hunger here.

We are currently in the planning stages of a summer-long Learn and Serve project for DCPS students. These students will be building, planting, and harvesting a brand new vegetable garden at Ferebee-Hope Community School Complex, located at 3999 8 th St. SE, Washington DC 20032.

Communities In Schools of the Nation’s Capital is currently looking for individuals with gardening experience to help tend to these gardens and teach the students basic gardening techniques. This opportunity will require a time commitment of two hours per week, for the duration of the summer.

CIS and Ferebee-Hope recently began a service learning project focusing on the issue of hunger and the lack of access to healthy food in the DC community, specifically in Southeast DC. To continue our work in the fight against hunger, and to promote improved neighborhood access to healthy food, students will come to the school weekly over the summer to help tend vegetable gardens.

This project is not expected to begin until late June, but we are looking to recruit volunteers now.

We’d appreciate any information you’d be willing to share with us. I look forward to hearing back from you! Email jfornof@cisnationscapital.org if you can help.

National Public Gardens Day: Friday, May 7, 10 am–5 pm, 100 Maryland Avenue SW. The US Botanic Garden will be commemorating the national day of celebration to raise awareness of America’s public gardens and their important role in promoting environmental stewardship, education, plant conservation and water conservation nationwide. The US Botanic Garden will feature an exhibit on public gardens, distribute free sunflower seed packets for visitors and provide a sneak peak look at the Garden’s new summer exhibit on potatoes – “Spuds Unearthed! The event is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit www.PublicGardens.org.

Neighborhood Farm Initiative Plant Sales: Every Saturday from 10-2 in May, Community Forklift, 4671 Tanglewood Dr, Edmonston, MD. NFI is selling organic basil, tomato and pepper seedlings to raise funds for our programs.

Compost Happens! Workshop at Common Good City Farm: Saturday, May 8th from 11am -1pm. Learn to use your garden, yard and kitchen waste to create rich soil. We will focus on methods easy and suitable for small yards and apartments. Teacher: Kaitlin Rienzo-Stack, Master Composter since ’05. Register Now!

GardenMart Plant Sale Saturday, May 8, 9:00am-1:00pm, Brookside Gardens Wheaton MD. The Silver Spring Garden Club’s 60th annual GardenMart Plant Sale features heirloom tomato seedlings, native plants, herbs, houseplants, and much, much more. Come early in the sale for best selection. Free event, open to the general public. Directions at http://www.brooksidegardens.org/

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