Part 1: Turning Challenges into Opportunities
In the Spring of 2021, Kearsarge Food Hub had a special opportunity to co-create a new program that’s both exciting and deeply needed. We joined in partnership with Andy and Dorothy Jeffrey and Colby-Sawyer College to bring our first ever Farmer Apprenticeship Program to life. This is a six-month, paid, intensive training opportunity for young folks interested in pursuing farming as a career.
That spring, a lot of details big and small came together to make this program a reality. We worked hard to outline specific outcomes that support potential new farmers with access to land, education, community, mentorship, technical assistance, business support, and markets. To learn more about the urgent need to support new and beginning farmers in this way, read our blog on Growing Farmers.
We had two fantastic and eager candidates, Cassie and Jake, who just wrapped up college at Colby-Sawyer and were looking for hands-on farming experience. They were already familiar with our work here at KFH, having engaged in various capacities throughout their college career as students and volunteers. They were able to find affordable housing and additional work to make the part-time apprenticeship manageable.
By the end of the season, Cassie and Jake far exceeded expectations as farmer apprentices. They surpassed sales goals from the produce and flowers they grew and sold, took initiative to make structural improvements on the farm, sought out new markets when they had abundance to share with the community, and showed up every day with enthusiasm and a problem solving mindset. They also engaged with elementary age students who came to the farm, passing on their knowledge and keeping the educational cycle moving forward.
Cassie showing us the Community FREEdge which she stocks several times per week with fresh produce, prepared meals, and grocery items.
We are delighted to share that they are now full-time employees here at the Kearsarge Food Hub! Cassie is our Food Access Manager, running Sweet Beet Market and our food donations program. Jake is a full-time farmer on Sweet Beet Farm. This is exactly the kind of pathway that we hope to cultivate with our educational programming - reaching students in K-12 and college, generating awareness about opportunities in the local food system, and creating tangible ways to get involved from volunteerism to employment.
Though this first year went according to plan, this past spring things went a little differently. We were ultimately unable to find new farmer apprentices for year two of the program. The pieces that fell into place for year one, like affordable housing and having an established relationship with candidates, were lacking this second time around. This gives us valuable information moving forward.
The inability to find apprentices is a challenge in and of itself, and it’s also a symptom of a complex set of issues that we all face here in the Granite State, and in rural areas in general.
Jake harvesting beets on Sweet Beet Farm, summer 2022.
The hard truth is that the social determinants of health are compromised for many neighbors in NH - safe and affordable housing, access to transportation, access to good jobs with liveable wages, the ability to purchase nutritious foods, and supportive social networks, to name a few.
New Hampshire has an aging population that is exacerbated by a lack of infrastructure and services that young people and families need to thrive.
On top of all this, the cost of living is on the rise. According to a US Census pulse survey, in June of 2022 more than a third of New Hampshire residents reported that it was somewhat or very difficult to pay for usual household expenses. That’s nearly 400,000 people.
And of course, when we say things like labor shortages and lack of affordable housing, we’re really using transactional terms to describe how the health of our rural communities is suffering. So, in the longer term, we view these realities as a call to action to address the root of the problem and make New Hampshire a welcoming and supportive place to live.
For us here at KFH, this is an opportunity to re-envision our farm-based educational programming to meet the needs of our community and the demand for job training within the complicated context in which we live.
We’ve learned so much, not only about what it will take to create a vibrant, sustainable, and meaningful apprenticeship program, but also even more about the very real challenges that are faced by our community and the next generation of farmers.
We are now exploring ways we can address the housing concern for our apprentices, and are hoping to raise more money so that the paid internship is enough to support the apprentices through the farming season. Farming is incredibly hard work and there is tremendous room for improvement in terms of fair compensation, especially to keep up with the rising cost of living across the board.
There’s also a lot more work we can do earlier on in the process to support greater accessibility and viability for something like an intensive 6-month farmer apprenticeship program. We feel invigorated to reach local kids at younger ages, from homeschool groups to school districts, to create excitement, interest, and experience in the local food system early on.
In part 2 of this blog series, we’ll explore the specifics of how KFH has adapted our farm-based educational programs to meet the needs of our community here and now. Our goal is to address the problems we face with creative solutions and long-term vision, and, ultimately, help support the next generation of farmers who will feed our communities and care for our lands. Stay tuned!