Job Opportunity: Massachusetts Avenue Project is Hiring an Urban Farm Manager

Massachusetts Avenue Project (MAP) is THE place to get involved in addressing food insecurity issues in Buffalo!  And NOW is the time to get involved!  We are announcing an opportunity for interested parties to apply for a position as the new Farm Manager for our organization.

Applications are due by Saturday, March 21, 2015.  CLICK HERE for the full job description and information on how to apply. 

MAP is seeking a full-time Farm Manager to manage production and operations at its urban farm sites on the West Side of Buffalo, NY.  MAP farms using permaculture and other sustainable practices on 1.5 acres producing fruits vegetables herbs, chicken, eggs and tilapia.  The farm includes aquaponics and produce hoophouses, a chicken coop, rainwater catchment, compost, an outdoor harvesting and washing station and a farm stand.

Food grown is marketed through a Mobile Market targeting low-income consumers, as well as through a CSA, restaurant and other sale venues.  MAP annually employs and trains 40-50 youth, ages 14-20, in urban agriculture, food systems, microenterprise development and leadership.

MAP is a non-profit organization, where full-time staff and youth employees work together in a cooperative atmosphere.  Here, we work as a team to accomplish our mission which is to nurture the growth of a diverse and equitable community food system.

MAP is also hiring farm and market interns. Read more about those positions here.

'Taste the Future' at Developing Urban Farm in North Tonawanda

GroOperative - Worker-owned Urban Farm - invites you to Taste the Future

A developing worker cooperative called GroOperative is hosting a fundraiser called Taste the Future in North Tonawanda on Saturday, September 6^th and is inviting the community to come out to support the venture, offering food, live music and samples of prototype beers. The event will go from 6pm to 10pm at The Strand, a former theater renovated as a music and performance venue at 540 Oliver St.

There is a presentation on cooperatives in general and on GroOperative’s vision in particular that begins at 7pm at the Strand on September 6^th, followed by a question and answer session. The team leading the effort consists of four young men from the Buffalo area with backgrounds in building trades, brewing, sales, administration and food production. Live blues/roots/funk music by David Michael Miller & Friends begins at 8pm.

GroOperative aims to provide high-quality food and high-quality jobs in Western New York, ideally in the City of Buffalo, through a worker-owned vertical farming system. Worker-ownership means a type of cooperative where the people who work at the business are also the owners, participating in making decisions both big and small. Vertical farming is a relatively new, indoor gardening and farming system that stacks trays of growing plants vertically, making the most use of available space.

Entry to the event is by donation, with a suggested donation of $20. Proceeds from the Taste the Future event will go toward GroOperative’s development, helping to cover costs of things like legal fees, grant-writing,  website maintenance and aquaponics research & development. For more information, click 'Read more' (below) and also visit www.grooperative.com.

Volunteers: Hoop House Urban Farming

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