The Washington Youth Garden has an opening for a part-time Communications/Media intern.

We are seeking an energetic, creative individual with strong communication and social media skills to assist small staff with managing and advancing the organization’s communication systems.  The Communications/Media Intern will have the opportunity to work on a variety of communication projects involving website and blog maintenance, newsletter development and writing, coordinating presence on social media networks, communications database development and maintenance, writing articles and organizational communications, as well as assisting with programs and special events.

If you are interested please visit the Washington Youth Garden website for more information.

Have you ever thought about what your website is actually saying about you or your organization? A fun, creative way to visualize the words that are being used to talk about your organization, your mission or values is to create a Word Cloud using www.wordle.net.

I have created one for the “About” section of DC’s Field to Fork Network website. The larger the term or the word which appears in the word cloud, the more often it appears in the selected text. You then can change the font colors, orientation, font style, etc. to fit your creativity needs.

What were the biggest terms for DC Field to Fork Network?

Food, network, field, community, outreach, fresh, fork…

Here is the DC Field to Fork word cloud:

DCF2Fwordcloud

Please check out the October 2011 Newsletter for a number of upcoming events and ways to get involved in DC’s urban agriculture and food security network!

Link to the October 2011 Newsletter

1. Children’s Hunger Service-Learning Grants- Applications due August 15

The Sodexo Foundation and Youth Service America are accepting applications for the Sodexo School Engagement grant program, which will support teachers and students, grades K-12, in learning about incidences of childhood hunger in their community, and in leading meaningful activities that facilitate access to nutritious food for all children. More information here. 

2. Youth-Led Children’s Hunger Volunteer Projects- Applications due September 16

With support from the Sodexo Foundation, Youth Service America will award twenty-five Youth Grants of $500 to support youth-led service projects in the U.S. that address the issue of childhood hunger during National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week (November 13-20, 2011). The grant program seeks to fund youth-inspired solutions to ending childhood hunger in their community. More information here.

Neighborhood Farm Initiative is currently accepting applications for two positions starting immediately!

Young Growers Assistant Leader will work with the Young Growers Education Specialist and will be responsible for assisting the Young Growers Education Specialist in facilitating lessons and hands-on gardening activities for teens involved in the Young Growers program. Please see the link below for a full description and qualifications for this position!

School Garden Liaison will work with the program director to implement aspects of NFI’s “Building Capacity in Gardens, Individuals, and Communities” work plan involving DCPS partners.  The aspects of the work plan that will involve the School Garden Liaison are as follows:

• Collaborative Meetings with DC Public Schools Partners (Ongoing)
• Pre-test Participants (June, October)
• Ongoing School Garden Maintenance (Ongoing)
• Lead DCPS garden enrichment activities (Ongoing)
• Post-test Participants (August, December)

The School Garden Liaison’s primary function is to serve as the point person the two schools who will be partnering with NFI on this project.  The SGL will work with staff at each of these schools to ensure that the garden installations, maintenance, and Garden Club activities are being performed as envisioned.

Please see the link below for a complete description and compensation for this position!

Descriptions at the Neighborhood Farm Initiative website: http://www.neighborhoodfarminitiative.org/volunteer/hiring/

Applications for both positions are due as soon as possible!

Please join City Blossoms for their 3rd Annual Proper Topper Garden Fiesta fundraiser this Thursday, June 23rd!

6:30 – 8:30 pm in the garden, Harvard & 11th Street, Washington DC, 20009

The invite from City Blossoms:

“Put on your best hat & join us for an enchanting evening in the garden, under the stars. Enjoy scrumptious delights, colorful cocktails, juicy raffle items & a proper topper hat contest!”

$15 donation is requested. All proceeds support City Blossoms’ summer programming.

Please RSVP to info@cityblossoms.org

For more information please visit www.cityblossoms.org or see the event details via facebook

Please come and visit the Field to Fork Network booth at farmers’ markets this weekend! The following F2F partners will be at the following locations. Come and learn about the work they are doing and how you can possibly help!

Neighborhood Farm Initiative at the Mount Pleasant Farmers Market

Hope to see you there!

[Cross-posted on the DC Food for All]

Every five years, Congress gets to work on the nearly 300-billion dollar piece of legislation known as the “Farm Bill” – an “omnibus” bill that addresses everything from farm subsidies to commodity growers to SNAP and other programs to support those in need, from foreign food aid to grants from community food programs.

These policies combined set the framework for what and how we eat, and whether our food is nourishing and affordable, what assistance our society provides to feed hungry people. Set to expire in 2012, the most recent Farm Bill included some improvements, but still disproportionately supports a food system dominated by the large-scale, agribusiness approach to agriculture.

At the same time, here in DC, folks have been talking about how our food system is broken – more than one in eight families classify as food insecure, and nearly half of DC residents are overweight or obese. While the NFI & the DC Field to Fork Network believes that community gardens and urban food production can be part of the solution to these challenges, we can also join our voices together to demand systemic change.

Across the country and here in DC, the support for local farmers, fresh and healthy food, gardening, and farmers markets has reached new levels of enthusiasm. That enthusiasm for a new food system, however, has yet to be translated into new food policy. To achieve a Farm Bill that supports the kind of food system we want – one that nourishes our bodies, our land, and our communities – we’ve got to get involved!

Here’s one opportunity: the Neighborhood Farm Initiative is hosting Food and Water Watch for a conversation about the Farm Bill at our next Saturday morning workday! Join us for the Mamie D. Lee Community Garden clean-up day on Saturday, June 4th from 10 a.m. – noon. Then, stick around for a potluck and discussion beginning at noon!

The garden is located right between the Mamie D. Lee school (100 Gallatin Street NE) and the Ft Totten Metro Station (Red, Yellow, & Green Lines) From the metro station, turn left (north) and walk up the sidewalk past where the buses stop.

Want to learn more? Check out Food and Water watch’s webiste, or one of my favorite facebook pages – Understanding the Farm Bill. Want to have one of these discussions in your garden or garden spaces? Contact khuynh@fwwatch.org or dcfieldtofork@gmail.com for more.