FALL 2022

IN THIS ISSUE
new school year • intern + apprentice updates • how to find our produce • volunteer shoutouts

GOOD SCHOOL FOOD
As we enter the 2022-2023 school year, we are reflecting on all the changes our students and instructors have navigated since 2020. In addition to the challenges that COVID-19 presented, we closed our downtown campus to begin constructing the Center for Food Education. Since opening the facility in 2021, we’ve now expanded our Good School Food educational model and hosted numerous field trips and day camps with students from all seven of our partner schools and beyond. We are excited to see new and familiar faces on the Teaching Farms this fall; take a look at what we are offering this season!

After School
After School at Avondale, Glen Iris, Hayes, Putnam, Oliver
Farm Club students learn to plant, harvest, and care for crops in the Teaching Farm.

During School
During School at Avondale, Glen Iris, Hayes, Putnam, Oliver, Phillips
Using food to connect students to academic standards, lessons explore core subjects as well as the arts from Pre-K to 8th grade.

Fun with Phillips
Since 2016, Phillips Academy students have visited us from just a block away to explore the Teaching Farm. Our staff has even wheeled a mobile kitchen down the road and around the school for culinary lessons. This spring, Good School Food instructors invited our Phillips friends to the new Center for Food Education for cross-­curricular lessons. We completed the construction of the Phillips Academy Teaching Farm this summer and baby plants are starting to sprout. We are so excited to finally have a permanent space for Phillips students to call their own!

FIELD TRIPS
Field trips are available to Pre-K-12th graders from any school and free for Birmingham City Schools’ students. Field trips connect food, farming, and the culinary arts to standards-based learning, just like we do on our Teaching Farms at partner schools. Interested in scheduling a field trip for your class or homeschool group? Click here for more information.

YOUTH PATHWAYS
Big things are happening in the department of Youth Pathways & Experiences. In the spring, interns Iris, Davon, Jakyra, and Keyona graduated from Woodlawn High School. Over the summer, three apprentices have taken the next step on their pathways: Avant now works full-time at Yellowhammer Farm; Destiny has accepted a position with Jones Valley Teaching Farm as Finance Specialist; and Dom completed his coding certification and is pursuing entrepreneurship opportunities. This fall, four new and two returning interns have kicked off the school year at Woodlawn High School, and we are expanding the high school internship to all Birmingham City high school students. Stay tuned to learn more!

VOLUNTEERS
It takes hard work and dedication to grow food, and volunteers play a huge role in bringing our vision to fruition. The Teaching Farms have been buzzing with volunteers this year and we would like to thank all who have helped us maintain safe and beautiful learning spaces throughout Birmingham! Click here for more information on ways to get involved with our volunteer program.

FARM FRESH & FREE
No matter your income or circumstances, everyone deserves good food.
Each week, our farmers harvest fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs, from all seven Teaching Farms to use in Good School Food educational programming. To make fresh food more accessible to our neighbors and students, we share the remaining harvest at no cost. Here are a few places you can find our produce:

Downtown Farm Stand
On the corner of 7th Ave and 25th St N, 35203
Monday-Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm and Saturday 9:00am-12:30pm

Woodlawn High School Farm Stand
253 54th St N, Birmingham, AL 35212
each 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month, 4:00pm-5:30pm

Harvest Share
Farmers deliver produce bags to senior residents of the Veranda at Park Place, adjacent to our downtown campus.

Pantry Partners
Farmers deliver in bulk to our network of organizations that distribute food in Woodlawn and surrounding communities.

HOST YOUR HOLIDAY PARTY
Host your holiday dinner, party, or family gathering at JVTF’s Center for Food Education. Situated on a full city block in downtown Birmingham, the Center for Food Education presents a distinctive space for gatherings of all sizes. Click here for more information on venue rentals.

JVTF is grateful to the many generous partners that make our work possible.
Thank you!