Monthly Archives: November 2013

Wrapping up a great season

Season extension: we’re still growing
2013 was a productive season at KCC Urban Farm. Despite smaller growing area due to construction, we grew over 3,000 lbs of fresh produce, all of which went to the KCC community!

While the weather is getting cold outside, it’s still a few degrees warmer in the hoop house, where we’ll be growing cold hardy crops through the winter.

Working with KCC Reads

Food Day at KCC Urban Farm

KCC Urban Farm has been working intimately with KCC Reads, since this year’s book, Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, is all about our food system. We co-hosted an event on Food Day, a national celebration of healthy, affordable, and sustainably produced food, that brought over a hundred students to the farm. We led tours of the farm and discussions about our food system for dozens of classes that are reading the book, and produced a toolkit of resources for faculty who are teaching about food and farming.

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Direct Care Counseling (DCC) at the Borough of Manhattan Community College

The Direct Care Counseling at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) is a full-time training program, offered Monday-Friday from 9 am – 5 pm. The DCC program prepares student to work in the mental health field dealing with individuals with Developmental Disabilities. Training includes Approved Medication Administration & Personal, Strategic Crisis Intervention and Prevention and CPR/First Aid. Upon Completion of DCC training, students earn/bank 3 college credits towards an AAS Degree in Human Services at BMCC

For more information and to register for an upcoming info session, please call: 212-346-8435.

Upcoming Info Session Dates:

Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Monday, December 9, 2013
Friday, December 13, 2013
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Monday, January 6, 2014
Friday January 10, 2014
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Monday, January 27, 2014
Friday, January 31, 2014
Monday, February 3, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
Friday, February 14, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Friday, February 21, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Composting in New York

KCC Urban Farm compost

Great news from PlaNYC! In the first 6 months of the city’s composting pilot program, over 2,500 tons of solid waste has been diverted from city landfills. That’s a lot of waste! The current pilot is running with curbside pickup in Staten Island and a handful of restaurants throughout the city. The Food Waste Challenge, which encourages restaurants to reduce food waste in city landfills by 50%, is part of the larger PlaNYC challenge to divert 75% of all solid waste from landfills by 2030. Despite still being in its adolescent stage, this initiative is expected to make significant changes to the way New Yorkers handle their waste.

Composting at KCC Urban Farm in Brooklyn is big! Our compost comes from Farm leftovers, as well as waste from Kingsborough’s Culinary Arts program. We have plans to revamp our current system as well as to develop a new, campus-wide collection and processing system. While this new program hasn’t yet gotten off the ground, our larger goal is engage the campus community with drop-offs for faculty, staff, students and other campus entities, as well as creating a more robust and collaborative system of learning for everyone involved. If you’re interested in learning more about composting or would like to be involved in this new initiative, contact the KCC Urban Farm (kccurbanfarm@kbcc.cuny.edu or 718.368.6578) for site visits or a list of our Continuing Education classes.

Career Tips

You’ve landed a job. Now, how are you going to rock it? Here’s some really great advice coming from thedailymuse.com 45 Pieces of Career Advice That Will Get You To The Top. A few highlights:

“2. Don’t take yourself (or your career) too seriously. Plenty of brilliant people started out in jobs they hated, or took paths that weren’t right at the beginning of their careers. Professional development is no longer linear, and trust that with hard work and a dedication to figuring out what you want to do with your life, you, too, will be OK! Kathryn Minshew, CEO of The Muse”

I’m not sure the opening wording is the best, but what comes after is…”Professional development is no longer linear” It’s rare that people end up in the exact career they planned for when they graduated. One bad job won’t define your future in a specific industry, and on the flip-side, one job in a completely different industry might change your future career path. With this in mind, work hard wherever you are. Find out what moves you and see where it, and you, can go.

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Build Your LinkedIn Profile

infograph via MarketMeSuite.

Getting Past Applicant Tracking Systems

Recruiters across industries claim that upwards of 500 people will submit resumes for a single entry-level position*. So, how do HR professionals whittle these resumes down to a few good candidates? Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Put simply, ATSs are software programs that enable computerized handling of resumes. They store, organize and sort resumes based on requirements of postings by companies. ATSs are not used across the board, but for some of the most sought-after positions, these systems are becoming an industry standard. While this technology is helpful for recruiters/businesses, it can be a major obstacle for applicants. Recently, recruitment-insiders have been sharing tips to help you break through these system shortfalls:

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Restaurant Machine

img via TripAdvisor

To get a glimpse at an extreme example of efficient restaurant management, take a look at Willy Staley’s recent article in NY Times Magazine, “22 Hours in Balthazar.” Balthazar, one of Soho’s hottest spots for fine dining and ultimate star-gazing, churns out high quality meals for 1,500 diners a day, spending close to $90,000 a week on food. To keep patrons fed, the restaurant has become a factory—“raw materials enter through one side early each morning, moving through various stations, where 150 to 200 employees, each playing a narrowly defined role, produce finished, value-added and marked-up goods and serve them directly to end users.” Because of this extreme efficiency, the machine shines. Every role is just as important as the next, from the stewards who bring in and catalog deliveries at 6:00 each morning to head chef Shane McBride who makes important decisions about suppliers, recipes and menus. This New York location has such a well-run system, it recently flew a team of busboys to train staff at their new London location.

Does this spark your interest? If you’re curious to learn more about the New York restaurant industry, the Food and Beverage or Culinary Arts paths in CUNY CareerPATH at Kingsborough might be your first step towards a career in this fast-paced field. Eligibility restrictions apply, so we encourage you to speak with a representative about your options. We have information sessions scheduled through December, so get in touch with us today!

The New GED

January 2014 will bring a new GED®. While receiving a GED® is success in and of itself, The American Council on Education realized the test, as it currently stands, does not go far enough in preparing takers for college admission and/or work requirements that follow. This new test will focus more heavily on the American Common Core Standards, which lay out exactly what students should master as they make their way through primary education. The ultimate goal is to set GED® recipients on a path towards higher education and more advanced employment opportunities.

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Women’s Initiative at Kingsborough Community College

Early this summer, Kingsborough Community College was host to California-based Women’s Initiative for one of their first New York classes. Women’s Initiative provides low-income women with the training and resources they need to start their own businesses. Over the years, they have helped hundreds of women turn their personal dreams into a reality while also supporting local economies with jobs and increased incomes, all while creating a deep sense of community.

In October I had the chance to speak with three recent graduates who participated in the Kingsborough group. These women came from very different backgrounds, but all came to Women’s Initiative with a desire to take charge of their futures.

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Women’s Initiative

Last summer we had the pleasure to host California-based Women’s Initiative for one of their first New York classes. Women’s Initiative provides low-income women with the training and resources they need to start their own businesses. Over the years, they have helped hundreds of women turn their personal dreams into a reality while also supporting local economies with jobs and money resulting from increased incomes, all while encouraging a deep sense of community. While classes won’t be held at Kingsborough this year, we still want to support this great organization.

Information sessions are scheduled for November 12th and November 19th; click on the flyer below for more information.

In October I had a chance to speak with three recent graduates of the Women’s Initiative, Kingsborough class. Stay tuned for a post about them and their experiences with this great program.