Teens Growing Healthy Futures: Americorps Opportunity in the Red Shed Garden!

Americorps Position in Twisp. WA
Applications accepted July 5-August 1, 2012
Term begins September 1, 2012 and ends July 15, 2013
Please visit  www.americorps.gov to submit an application for this program

The “Teens Growing Healthy Futures” project will have a core mission of creating access to healthy meals for Methow Valley teens.  This position will provide an opportunity for someone with a passion for local, organic foods to work with teenagers and the Methow Valley’s dynamic local food system.

Access to healthy foods will be created both by provision of a weekly dinner at the teen center, and nutrition, cooking and gardening instruction through Red Shed.  The Americorps member will support this mission and these activities by helping Red Shed establish an additional garden space and by helping the Valley Teen Center continue to develop their new center location. This will entail: working in the existing Red shed garden;  harvesting crops in September and October for fresh eating as well as storage crops to be consumed throughout the winter months; continuing work towards the establishment of a new garden location at the TwispWorks campus and involving teens in the process of planting and irrigating cover crops, erecting a deer fence, creating paths and interpretive signs, creating compost bins; establishing a gardening program for teen center participants; establishing and teaching a cooking program for teen center participants; working with existing Independent Learning Center students to prep weekly meal for Teen Center; soliciting in-kind donations for supplemental food (in addition to Red Shed produce); overseeing meal service at weekly teen center meal; incorporating nutrition education into teen center activities; providing mentoring and tutoring support during teen center hours; coordinating volunteer chaperones and mentors for teens at the Teen Center; conducting workshops with teens to develop further programming.