Source: LOST SIERRA FOOD PROJECT submitted to NRP
FEATHER RIVER FOOD SYSTEM INITIATIVE: BRIDGING DISCIPLINES AND BRIGHT FUTURES IN RURAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1031529
Grant No.
2023-38414-41221
Cumulative Award Amt.
$150,000.00
Proposal No.
2023-05203
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 15, 2023
Project End Date
May 14, 2026
Grant Year
2023
Program Code
[SPECA]- Secondary Challenge Program
Recipient Organization
LOST SIERRA FOOD PROJECT
429 MAIN STREET
QUINCY,CA 95971
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
SummaryThe Feather River Food System Initiative proposes to bridge and coordinate two fledgling technical agricultural programs in Plumas County, creating affordable and applicable curriculum and mentorship for students with a clear pathway from secondary and community college programs to two and four year post secondary farm and food systems programs and career opportunities. Feather River College (FRC) is a community college that offers an affordable one year certification in Ecological Farming. Plumas Charter School (PCS) is a public charter school that recently launched an Agriscience career technical education pathway. Lost Sierra Food Project is the project partner for both programs, providing a 2.5 acre diversified vegetable farm as the primary laboratory for learning. Through this proposal, we seek to recruit, inspire, and provide bridges between these programs and establish pathways between high school students, the local community college, and regional 4-year schools. This initiative benefits current and prospective students, many from underserved backgrounds, residents of Plumas County through community food security programming, and the future agriculture workforce by preparing students to address contemporary environmental and economic obstacles. This initiative seeks to (1) increase and enhance current teaching and coordination capacities to be multidisciplinary, applied, and vocational for existing agriscience programs, (2) promote and implement the inclusion of curriculum that includes immersive technical farming, qualitative methods through community research, and field based internship opportunities, and (3) mentor current and prospective students to transfer these technical and leadership skills to pursue higher education opportunities.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
8036099107050%
2050199302050%
Knowledge Area
803 - Sociological and Technological Change Affecting Individuals, Families, and Communities; 205 - Plant Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other; 0199 - Soil and land, general;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology; 3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
The objectives of the Feather River Food System Initiative are to: (1) Increase and enhance current teaching and coordination capacities to be multidisciplinary, applied, and vocational for existing agriscience programs, (2) Promote and implement the inclusion of curriculum that includes immersive technical farming, qualitative methods through community research, and field based internship opportunities, and (3) Mentor current and prospective students to transfer these technical and leadership skills via dual enrollment and articulated pathways to pursue associate and bachelor degrees within agriculture and food science.There are two major proposed NEW curriculum as a part of this initiative:The Oral History of Plumas County Food Systems Project - FRC and PCS programs will teach students skills in interviewing, transcribing, and understanding larger concepts within the food system and agriculture and sharing the results back with the community. With guidance from instructors, students will conduct intergenerational interviews to learn about the local food system changes over the last 50 years. This integration of qualitative methods through community research will equip students with communication and research skills that support community-based learning. This project will be a part of courses that investigate Sustainable Food Systems. The overarching goal is to learn about contemporary issues in food systems while maintaining the legacy and traditions of agricultural producers in the area. This project seeks to understand the evolution of agriculture and farming in Plumas County while helping youth understand viable careers in agriculture, and inspiring them to enter the agricultural workforce.Summer Job Training Program - Two PCS students and two FRC students will be intricately involved in the daily tasks of operations of the diversified vegetable farm and community food security programs offered by Lost Sierra Food Project. Interns will learn technical skills while assisting with weekly delivery of food donations to towns throughout the county, local school cafeterias, aiding in coordinating a 17 week Affordable Farm Bucks Program at the farm, and assisting with donations of produce to local food pantries and wellness centers.
Project Methods
The first step in accomplishing these goals will be increasing the capacity of our staff. Plumas Charter School currently has funding for a part-time CTE (career technical education) agriculture pathway coordinator. This grant seeks to expand the funding for this position to increase their capacity to recruit new students, coordinate and outline a clear pathway for students in the Agriscience pathway, and mentor agricultural pathway students to dually enroll at FRC and pursue higher education opportunities. Over the past two years, retention for the pathway coordinator has been challenging. Through the offering of a more robust position, we will be able to retain staff, increase institutional knowledge and capacity, and ensure a transition plan when the funding from this grant ends.In addition to the pathway coordinator, Lost Sierra Food Project will expand the capacity of our farm-based program coordinator. This role is critical to ensure that project partners are making the best use of current and prospective resources. The farm-based program coordinator will be responsible for supervising interns, student employees, and PCS and FRC courses on the farm. This coordinator will work with the PD, Co-PD's, PCS pathway coordinator, FRC ENVR Instructional Assistant, and Ecological Farming Certificate Instructors to bridge and collaborate on new and innovative curriculum. By adding funds to the capacity of this position, this proposal will be positioned for success, measurable outcomes, and transition plans when the funding ends.The current courses offered by Feather River College as a part of the Ecological Farming certificate are Introduction to Sustainable Food Systems, Soil Science, Ecological Pest Management, Season Extension Structures, and High Altitude Crop Production Summer and Fall. Plumas Charter School currently has an internship program and FRC has a student employee program. The LSFP farm-based program coordinator will mentor and supervise these students, including professional development workshops. Additionally, FRC has accreditation for three short courses: Fruit Tree and Berry Production, Small Animal Husbandry, and Farm Tools and Infrastructure. With this funding, we will be able to allocate resources towards recruiting and training new instructors for this program. PCS students will be able to dually enroll in the technical courses offered by FRC.

Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience:LSFP's (Lost Sierra Food Project) target audience is the population of Plumas County, home to approximately 19,000 people. One of LSFP's missions is to increase access to local foods for all who are interested or in need. Our target audience is large and from an educational standpoint, includes k-12, traditional college students, and adult education. ? Changes/Problems:No problems encountered. LSFP has gained a new Executive Director, but this has not impacted the progress of this project. LSFP's Program Manager (Bethany Rouse) has recently been assigned to the Lead PD and AOR role. All necessary documentation has been submitted and approved. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Feather River Food System Initiative has provided job training and professional development for both High School aged students and college students on Rugged Roots Farm. Rugged Roots Farm is a 2.5 acre diversified vegetable farm that provides fresh, local produce to our community, serves as an outdoor classroom for all ages (k-12 and adult education), and a host site for events and educational workshops. Through summer 2024, LSFP has employed and provided supervision for 3 high school students and 1 FRC student. The LSFP Summer High School Internship is the first opportunity of employment for each of the High School aged students. LSFP was able to provide job training in immersive regenerative agriculture by incorporating the interns on day-to-day work on the farm combined with educational elements. The interns engaged in hands-on learning including tool use related to the trade, planting techniques, seeding techniques, skills related to weed management, irrigation repair, and produce harvesting and processing. The interns engaged in traditional learning by receiving lectures on non-profit outreach, agroecology, and food access. The interns gained skills in public interface by making food donations to local food banks and working farm stands that are open to the public. Starting May 2024, LSFP has provided supervision and direction to an Eco-Farm Student Assistant through Feather River College. This college student began work with LSFP working in our greenhouse. During this time, the student gained job training related to greenhouse management including seeding techniques, temperature control, watering schedules, and tool use and management. The student assisted LSFP staff in transitioning from greenhouse duties to planting the starts on Rugged Roots Farm. On Rugged Roots farm, the Student Assistant learned professional skills in transplanting, season extension techniques, irrigation management, weed management, tool use and management, produce harvesting, and produce processing including sales and donations. Outside of vocational specific training, the student assistant engaged in lectures related to agroecology and developed new culinary skills. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?LSFP and Rugged Roots farm is located in the small rural community of Quincy, CA. Due to our local culture, the most effective method of outreach is always word of mouth. It is difficult to gather and disseminate program metrics via means of "word of mouth". However, LSFP runs both an Instagram and Facebook page where we share weekly updates on LSFP's workforce development programs. Posts include what work and skills were accomplished by interns and student assistants. Combined, LSFP has 2.8k followers between the two social platforms. Our summer workforce development posts reached 159 people on Facebook and 167 people on Instagram, reaching a combined total of 326 people or roughly 11% of our followers. LSFP continues to build on our outreach program, looking for new ways to increase our reach and broaden our community. LSFP also produces an Annual Report that is mailed to approximately 100 households and distributed widely throughout our community. Accomplishment metrics from the Summer Job Training Program will be included in our 2024 Annual Report. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This reporting period focused on implementing work plans for High School Interns and Eco-Farm Student Assistants. After the summer work season comes to a close, LSFP Program Manager will debrief the Summer Job Training Programs with LSFP's Executive Director and look for opportunities for improvement. LSFP Program Manager will shift focus more heavily to goal 1 and goal 2. The Program Manager will look for opportunities to increase enrollment of the Feather River College Eco-Farm Certificate Program. This will include cross listing courses in similarly focused departments (Agriculture, Equine, Biology), encouraging dual enrollment of high school students in both secondary and college courses, and mentor students to pursue higher education. LSFP Program Manager will work closely with Plumas Charter School (PCS) faculty to develop the PCS Agriscience Pathway. This will include gaining interest from students to participate in the pathway and supporting curriculum development and implementation. LSFP Program Manager will be building the Oral History Project for FRC students during fall 2024 to be implemented in 2025.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Programming for Lost Sierra Food Project's (LSFP) NIFA SPECA project titled Feather River Food System Initiative kicked off in January of this year. The NIFA SPECA grant has allowed LSFP to hire a Program Manager that increased the organizations' capacity to accomplish work under each three main goals. Under Goal 1, LSFP has successfully increased and enhanced teaching and coordination capacities to be multidisciplinary, applied, and vocational for existing agriscience programs by coordinating a summer High School Internship program, planning and developing Feather River College (FRC) Eco-Farm Certificate courses as well as providing supervision and direction for FRC Student Employees, and coordinating with Plumas Charter School to develop an Agriscience Pathway for students in grades K-12. Both the LSFP Summer High School Internship Program (Summer Job Training Program) and the Plumas Charter School Agriscience Pathway are new programs. The LSFP Summer High School Internship Program is currently being implemented and planning for the Plumas Charter School Agriscience Pathway has commenced with courses beginning August 26th, 2024. Planning for the Feather River College Eco-Farm Certificate program courses is underway and will begin August 22nd, 2024. Each program has been designed to be multidisciplinary, applied, and vocational. The LSFP Summer Internship Program includes work not only tied to site-specific farming. The interns have learned to use a variety of both farm and building tools, interfaced with the community by making food donations to local community resource centers, developed new culinary skills, and learned retail skills by selling farm produce at LSFP Farm Stands. Under goal 2, LSFP Program Manager has developed a documented and repeatable curriculum for immersive technical farming through a field based Summer High School Internship. Under Goal 3, mentorship through the High School Summer Internship programming officially wrapped up August 13, 2024. Mentorship for current FRC student employees is being currently implemented. Work towards dual enrollment (enrollment in Quincy High School or Plumas Charter School and Feather River College courses) will be implemented fall 2024 and through 2025.

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