Urban Farm Coordinator Positions
Location: 5859 Allentown Way, Temple Hills, MD and remote
Commitment: February 1 – November 30, 2021 @ approximately 10 hours per week
Compensation: $14.00 per hour
Positions Available: 1-2, depending on availability of funds
About the Mona Center Urban Farm
The Catholic Charities – Susan Denison Mona Center is an integrated multi-services facility that provides critical resources to the residents of Prince George’s County. In partnership with the University of Maryland and Luminis Healthcare (formerly Doctors Community Hospital), Catholic Charities offers comprehensive services focusing on health and wellness, feeding and nutrition, and legal services.
The Mona Center Urban Farm was created on-site to facilitate community engagement and grow fresh produce for the residents of the neighborhood. The farm was started in 2019 and now consists of a pilot project of eighteen raised beds for vegetable production. With proven success, the project hopes to grow to occupy the full 1/3 acre of land available. 100% of the farm’s produce currently goes to the Catholic Charities Enterprise Kitchen, which prepares it into hot meals that are distributed for free to food-insecure residents in Washington, DC and Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties. As the farm and its outputs grow, the vegetables and herbs may be used in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and ProduceRx programs run by the Mona Center.
Position Description
The Urban Farm Coordinators work as a team of two to oversee day-to-day operations of the farm, including infrastructure planning, crop production, marketing, outreach, and educational programming. The Coordinators collaborate with Catholic Charities staff, Luminis Healthcare staff, and University of Maryland faculty advisors to bring farm projects and community events to fruition. The work may be divided as the Coordinators find appropriate; for example, one Coordinator may work primarily remotely on marketing, grant writing, and other tasks, while the other Coordinator is primarily responsible for on-site farm production and volunteer events. These are paid positions that may also be used to fulfill an academic internship requirement.
Responsibilities
- Cultivate accessible and inviting farm spaces for the community to explore, ask questions and gain skills in urban farming and home gardening
- Generate and execute an annual crop plan focusing on culturally relevant fruits, vegetables, and herbs for the community
- Crop maintenance, including planting, watering, weeding, fertilizing, mulching, irrigation, trellising, pruning, pest management, etc.
- Weekly harvests and deliveries following food safety protocols, in coordination with Catholic Charities Enterprise Kitchen
- Participate in farm infrastructure planning and development
- Lead weekly volunteer events for community members that offer pre-determined garden activities and provide orientation to the space, its purpose and relationship to other Mona Center functions
- Organize 1-2 community outreach events per season for local residents and other stakeholders
- Conduct outreach and build awareness of the farm and its brand through community interviews, regular social media posts, developing website content, and contributing to articles and other publications
- Maintain internal buy-in and enthusiasm for food growing by communicating progress to project partners
Qualifications
- Commitment to and experience in community work, education and food justice
- Minimum of two years’ experience growing vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers
- Experience constructing garden facilities, including raised beds and drip irrigation
- Experience with succession planting, pest management, and healthy soil management
- Experience teaching and leading volunteers
- Excellent interpersonal communication and leadership skills – comfortable working with groups of people of diverse ages and backgrounds
- Ability to work independently while also engaging in collaborative, team-based work
- Highly adaptable and creative
- Excellent time management and organizational skills, ability to prioritize and set boundaries
- Familiarity with managing a professional social media account
- Eager to work hard and get dirty in all kinds of weather
- Aptitude for physically demanding work (the ability to safely lift and carry 50 pounds repeatedly)
- Driver’s license and access to a personal vehicle
To Apply
Email a resume, cover letter, and three references to Meredith Epstein at mbepste@umd.edu by Friday, December 11, 2020.