Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for Not Forgotten Outreach (NFO) during this reporting period was veterans, immediate military family members, and low-income residents of Taos County and northern New Mexico. NFO reached these target audiences through agricultural workshops with a focus on regenerative principles and food safety, as well as food donations. NFO hosted workshops on that focused on regenerative principles such as cover cropping and soil health. All NFO staff and program participants were trained in Tier 1 and Tier 2 food safety. Further, NFO donated over 60 pounds of fresh produce to the Shared Table food distribution program and direct donations to military families. Changes/Problems:As described, this reporting period has been one of substantial transition for the organization which has impacted the VetCorps program. Unfortunately, four of the five VetCorps members in the April through November 2024 cohort opted not to complete the program. Members of the cohort were not as strategically recruited as they could have been; program goals and expectations were not clearly communicated to and agreed upon by VetCorps participants upon entrance to the program; and the farm was not fully operational without reliance on the VetCorps participants, hindering their learning from experienced leadership and crew, and placing the responsibility of day-to-day farm operations on the VetCorps members which the majority of them were not able to reliably carry out. NFO's current leadership and staff is dedicated to remedying these programs and very optimistic about the changes they're implementing to strengthen the organization and prepare for its future. As a result of actions taken by new leadership during the reporting period, NFO now has dedicated farm staff who are knowledgeable and experienced in farming and can carry out the day-to-day maintenance of the farm so that program participants may seamlessly transition in and out to learn proper regenerative farming and marketing techniques. NFO is strengthening its commitment to and focus on agriculture by adopting a new mission that embraces regenerative principles in farming, farming education, and land stewardship to promote local economic development and access to healthy food for Taos County with priority given to military veterans. With this new mission, NFO staff have a more structured framework in which to operate that is fully focused on agriculture. NFO found it was unable to accept some interested parties into the agricultural training program because they were not veterans or military family members. The pool of eligible participants was too narrow and resulted in program participants who were not sufficiently interested in becoming farmers. This problem was pronounced within the military family population, but veteran program participants were indeed interested in becoming farmers. The reorganizing of the organization and farming operation will necessarily include a restructuring of what was known as the VetCorps program. Now that NFO staff is sufficiently equipped to maintain the farm, NFO can have a much more significant impact on beginner farmers in Taos County. By having an efficient operation that is independent of the VetCorps program, program participants who are veterans and require a calm, stress-free atmosphere are much more likely to find it. NFO has thus strategically narrowed the focus of organizational operations to be more in line with the goals of the USDA in incentivizing veterans to become farmers, the goals of the agricultural community in Taos, and the needs of the veteran community. We are grateful to the USDA for its support and are committed to making a substantial impact on veteran farmers and the Taos community at large through our commitment to regenerative agriculture. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During the reporting period, VetCorps members received training in regenerative agriculture principles, planting and harvesting of crops, cover crops, soil health, and food safety requirements. Members also participated in whole health activities including yoga, empathy training with stray dogs, and equine therapy. @font-face { panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic- mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face { panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic- mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-469750017 -1040178053 9 0 511 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:8.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:107%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; ; mso-ascii- mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast- mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi- mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi- mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-font-kerning:1.0pt; mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;}p.MsoCommentText, li.MsoCommentText, div.MsoCommentText {mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-link:"Comment Text Char"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:8.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; ; mso-ascii- mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast- mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi- mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi- mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-font-kerning:1.0pt; mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;}span.MsoCommentReference {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-ansi-font-size:8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;}span.CommentTextChar {mso-style-name:"Comment Text Char"; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:"Comment Text"; mso-ansi-; mso-bidi-;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; ; mso-ansi-; mso-bidi-; mso-ascii- mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast- mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi- mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi- mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}.MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; margin-bottom:8.0pt; line-height:107%;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The program has undergone necessary reorganization. NFO has focused on regaining public trust, building upon board member expertise, and restructuring the program. Thus, no results have been shared beyond the staff, board, and close partners. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1) Redefine VetCorps participant recruitment criteria and strategies 2) Agree on clear, specific program goals and expectations with accepted VetCorps participants 3) Ensure the farm is at full operational capacity without the VetCorps participants in order to better teach members before and as they become part of the operations 4) Schedule at least quarterly regenerative agriculture workshops 5) Schedule at least quarterly "whole-health" activities 6) Collaborate with Aspen Solutions to conduct an entry survey, a mid-program feedback survey, and an exit survey with VetCorps cohort participants
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In the period of September 2023 - September 2024, NFO hosted 11 unique VetCorps members. 3 were veterans and 8 were immediate military family members. All members received at least 150 hours of agricultural training, including at least 14 hours of workshops taught by local experts. All members received about 30 hours of therapeutic activities including yoga, equine therapy, and empathy training with stray dogs. To learn from and improve the program, entry surveys were collected from VetCorps program members at the start of the 2024 program season in April, and feedback surveys were collected in May. Both were analyzed and reported upon by third-party Evaluator Aspen Solutions to support continued program development and improvement. See key findings below. The majority of VetCorps participants who entered the program in May 2024 did not have any garden, farm, ranch, or indoor grow operations but planned to use skills gained in the program to "have a home garden," "grow food for [themselves] and [their] families," "use what [they] grow to make another product to sell," "have a small or medium farm operation," "have a medium ranch operation," and/or "farm using hydroponics." The majority of participants who entered the program in May 2024 hoped to use skills gained in the program to give back to themselves, their friends, families and communities, things like "skills, knowledge, and produce grown," "food, laughter [and] joy," "a place for kids to learn and be inspired," and "sensitiv[ity] to others and nurturing the visions of healing, creativity and growth in a supportive, practical, and loving way." Feedback from participants two months into the program revealed tension, miscommunication and disorganization among program participants. Participants reported a lack of clear roles and responsibilities, poor planning and communication, a lack of follow through and accountability, and a lack of urgency when necessary. Feedback from the participants two months into the program revealed a desire for group therapy. Immediate actions taken as a result of the feedback survey included hiring a new farm manager, improved planning, communication and accountability from leadership, and implementing group therapy. Several steps were also taken to strengthen NFO as an organization and, subsequently, the VetCorps program. Most notably, the Board of Directors and leadership team participated in an intensive strategic planning session facilitated by third-party Evaluator and Facilitator Aspen Solutions. The session involved reviewing the organizations history, strengthening its mission and vision, and redefining its goals. The results of the session provided a foundation for revised organization policies, a formal strategic plan, and an evaluation plan. The strategic plan will be executed by NFO and the evaluation plan will be executed and reported upon by Aspen Solutions. Additionally, the interim director was promoted to executive director and a new farm manager and farming consultant were hired in the summer of 2024. They have all been diligently working toward the organization's revised goals, including greatly improving the farm's operations which will better support the VetCorps program. In addition to strengthening the leadership and staff, the organization has also been dedicated to strengthening relationships with its community partners, and its outreach efforts to Veterans and their families. These efforts will support recruitment for the VetCorps program.
Publications
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