‘The possibilities are endless’
Jones Valley Teaching Farm can amplify its mission with new Center for Food Education
Jones Valley Teaching Farm, founded in 2007, seeks to use food as a means of creating positive social change, particularly among young people.
Through its Good School Food model, full-time instructors collaborate with teachers to help pre-K through 12th grade students in Birmingham connect food, farming and the culinary arts in an academically sound way.
A nonprofit, Jones Valley Teaching Farm operates six sites located on the campuses of Birmingham elementary, middle and high schools, including the Downtown Teaching Farm at 701 25th St. N.
Now the JVTF will get a big boost for its work with students and the community at the teaching farm downtown.
The nonprofit is currently building The Center for Food Education, a new community facility located at the Downtown Teaching Farm.
The multi-use hub, scheduled to open this summer, will create a permanent infrastructure to accommodate more students, teachers and nearby residents
“Our five-year dream to build our future — the Center for Food Education — is now a reality thanks to the support of our many partners,” Executive Director Amanda Storey said.
In addition, to raise the money necessary to complete the center, the JVTF recently launched its Ready to Grow public campaign and seeks to raise $200,000.
The JVTF seeks to wrap up the Ready to Grow campaign by Oct. 22, Storey said.
The center will be able to expand or amplify what the organization is already doing, she said.
“We can share the lessons we’ve learned through our Good School Food education and apprenticeship model,” Storey said.
They will be able to host community workshops on weekends and at night for the first time.
“The possibilities are endless, but having a hub and a place to collaborate, implement and share will be life-changing for our organization,” Storey said.
The center is designed to serve as a hub for academic and personal growth and a pathway to employment through food, farming and the culinary arts, according to a JVTF release.
The facility will host daily field trips and Good School Food instruction, community gardening and culinary programming, affordable fresh produce, increased employment and training opportunities for graduates of Birmingham City Schools and professional development for teachers, the release states.
Like many organizations, JVTF adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic by using virtual means to reach students and families in Birmingham.
The new facility will include new audio-visual equipment to allow the JVTF to provide virtual content for classrooms.
“Virtual is a reality for our work now, and we know how to do it in thoughtful, meaningful ways while still embracing hands-on and engaging delivery,” Storey said.
“Once we are able to open up our doors safely in 2022, we hope to expand our-in person reach significantly,” she said.
The new center can only enhance Birmingham’s place as a national leader in food-based education and workforce development, Storey said.
“We’ve been participating in national conversations over the last few years and have been a destination for visitors all over the country,” she said. “By having a flagship location and training opportunities, workshops and technology to reach more people, we can provide better access to our work.”
In addition to the new facility, the JVTF has remained busy this spring.
In April, the organization took part in a virtual learning event called “Growing School Gardens” with the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation and the School Garden Support Organization Network.
The JVTF announced in April that Spire, the local natural gas provider, would be presenting sponsor of Farm Club — a part of Good School Food — for the 2021-22 academic year.
A free, virtual after-school enrichment program, Farm Club provides educational resources and direct access to fresh produce for the students and families of Birmingham City Schools.
The club “has been a great way to keep students engaged through the safety of virtual learning,” Spire Alabama and Mississippi President Joe Hampton said.
The JVTF also created the Good School Food Culinary Series, which began in March and will continue through October, according to a JVTF news release.
The culinary series is a new partnership between JVTF and Birmingham’s culinary community that provides culinary arts, nutrition and wellness training to Birmingham City Schools students and JVTF staff.
The series includes hands-on workshops, lectures and curriculum development with local chefs.
As the JVTF approaches its 15th anniversary — to be celebrated in 2022 — Storey observed that the organization “has had many iterations and has continued to evolve.”
Her hope is that “as we look back over the last 15 years, we must continue to do and be better,” she said.
“Ultimately, the legacy and the impact would be best described by the incredible young people we get to work with every day,” she said.
To make a donation, go to ready2grow.org. For more information about the JVTF, go to jvtf.org.