Poughkeepsie Farm Project Promotes Training Program to Ensure Community Food Security
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Poughkeepsie Farm Project (PFP) is working with the Ecological Citizens Project (ECP), a non-profit organization in Garrison, NY, to recruit a Poughkeepsie-based candidate for ECP’s Regenerative Communities Apprenticeship (RC). ECP aims to train new farmers, connect them to affordable land, and establish community farms in the Hudson Valley to create a permanent solution to local food insecurity. A community Zoom call hosted by PFP, ECP, and Scenic Hudson is scheduled for April 7th, 2021 at 6:00 pm to discuss the program and other new farming initiatives in Poughkeepsie. To register, visit Scenic Hudson’s website: scenichudson.org.
The RC Apprentice will work closely with ECP founders Jason Angell and Jocelyn Apicello on Longhaul Farm in Garrison, NY for 15- months (June 2021 - August 2022) to learn regenerative farming and sustainable life skills including building soil health, intensive growing practices, garden maintenance, harvesting, animal husbandry, cooking, preserving, carpentry, budgeting, and community leadership skills. English and Spanish applications can be found on ECP’s website: ecologicalcitizens.org.
Upon completion of the program, the apprentice will oversee the Pershing Avenue Neighborhood Farm, a new quarter-acre farm in the City of Poughkeepsie, for 15-months. ECP's Program Director, Jocelyn Apicello, said "We believe it's really important that farmers are rooted in and represent the surrounding community they are growing food for and can welcome and engage the neighborhood in the life of the farm.”
The Pershing Avenue Neighborhood Farm will distribute a percentage of its produce to local families via Dutchess Outreach Fresh Market. Dutchess Outreach (DO), a Poughkeepsie-based non-profit organization, manages an urban farm in the City of Poughkeepsie as part of its food access programming. The food grown on the farm supplies its Mobile Farmer’s Market that offers fresh produce to local residents and accepts all forms of payment including SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children).
DO’s Director of Development, Sarah Salem, said “COVID-19 further exposed the gaping holes that exist in our local food system. As this public health crisis continues, we need to ensure we’re able to consistently support the growth of food sovereignty initiatives to establish more equity in food access and strengthen our local food system. That’s what the Pershing Avenue Neighborhood Farm project does and we’re happy to help support our partners in its success.”
Supporting local food justice projects is part of PFP’s 2021 strategic plan to establish workable networks that ensure accessible, equitable distribution avenues for all in the Hudson Valley community. PFP’s Executive Director, Madeline Henriquez said, “We believe that elevating the status of agricultural vocations is key to a viable community. Our goal in helping Ecological Citizen’s Project is to recruit a candidate for the apprenticeship by sharing the opportunity within our networks and suggesting folks from within our pipeline of talent.”
PFP has grown its impact substantially since it began in 1999 with three acres of revived farmland leased from Vassar College and 70 CSA shareholders.
Twenty years later, the organization has grown to support 500 CSA shareholders that take home 80% of the 90 tons of certified naturally grown produce harvested each year from PFP’s 15-acre urban farm. The other 20% is distributed through PFP’s Food Share program, which aims to address hunger, increase local food access, and create a healthier community.
The farm is also an educational resource for children, teens, and adults to experience learning through a variety of hands-on activities, such as identifying and harvesting vegetables, cooking with farm-fresh produce, and interacting with the environment on farm tours. Each year, PFP reaches more than 7,000 children and adults through its educational programming.
To learn more about Poughkeepsie Farm Project and the community Zoom call, contact Executive Assistant, Lydia Hatfield at pfpadmin@farmproject.org. For Ecological Citizens Project inquiries, contact Director’s Jocelyn Apicello at jocelyn.apicello@ecologicalcitizens.org or Jason Angell at jason.angell@ecologicalcitizens.org.