Tag Archives: Brooklyn

Farm-to-Table in the US

 

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KCC Urban Farm students, Brooklyn

A great article from the NY Times about the growth of “Agritopia” in the US. Farm-to-Table Living Takes Root talks about the growth of residential neighborhoods that, instead of being built around golf clubs, swimming pools or tennis courts, have a central focus on farming. While this movement is still in its infancy (and with many bugs to work out), the idea of communities coming together through shared interest of farming is wonderful…especially for us at KCC Urban Farm!

The KCC Urban Farm host tastings, events, courses and supports class visits. Find out more information by visiting our home on this blog or finding us on facebook.  

March Job Fairs/Events NYC

Since March is just around the corner, here’s your monthly update of job/career-related events happening around the city. Don’t forget to check out some of our older posts to get tips on compiling your resume, building your professional social media presence, and preparing for career fairs and interviews.

Upcoming Fairs/Workshops/Events*:

  • March 4, 2014 AND March 6, 2014 Coney Island Job Seekers! Before attending either of these events, you must register online. For more information, visit NYCHA’s website.
  • March 13, 2014 11:00a-2:00p—New York City Career Fair @ Holiday Inn Midtown 440 W. 57th St., NYC
  • March 25, 2014 9:30a-1:30p—Advance Healthcare Network Job fair @ Jacob Javits Center 655 W. 35th St., NYC
  • March 31, 2014 11:00a-3:00–Coast-to-Coast Career Fair @ Radisson Martinique 49 W. 32nd St., NYC
  • March 31, 2014 10:00a-1:00p–Diversity Job Fair of New York @ Affinia Manhattan Hotel 371 7th Ave., NYC

Continue reading →

KCC Continuing Education Open House

Come to Kingsborough’s Office of Continuing Education Open House on Tuesday, March 11th at 6:30pm. In addition to hearing all about Continuing Education’s many offerings, you’ll also get information about CEWD training programs like CUNY CareerPATH, the Northeast Resiliency Consortium and Project Rise, as well as KCC Urban Farm and GIS classes.

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New Year, New GED at Project Rise

Are you interested in getting your GED/TASC? Project Rise can help!

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If you are interested and want to know more, fill out this quick survey, and a Project Rise staff member will get in contact with you. Recruitment for our next cohort is happening right now, so don’t hesitate. Your bright future is right around the corner!

Farming for NYC College Students, amNewYork

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Students at KCC Urban Farm. Brooklyn, NY.

KCC Urban Farm manager, Silvia Torres, was just featured in an amNY article about farming in the city.

“Our goal is to help students understand that something called a food system exists, and that they have the power to make choices that impact both the environment and their health,” Torres says.

Read about what KCC Urban Farm and other farms in the city are doing to encourage this kind of hands-on learning.

Changes in the Kitchen

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CUNY CareerPATH Culinary Arts Program, in the kitchen

A recent New York Times article, A Change in the Kitchen, digs deep into the changing roles of women in professional kitchens. For decades, thanks to low-pay, long hours and general high turnover, the food industry has largely been one for transient workers—oftentimes with more qualified workers leaving both jobs and the larger industry after a relatively short period of time. In the last few decades, in part due to the acknowledgement of basic worker rights, there’s been a move towards supporting employee satisfaction, with kitchens offering benefits, sick time and the possibility for promotion. Add to this to growing prestige of the culinary world, due partially to evolving food fads, the opening of specialized restaurants, and the glitz and glam of the industry via reality cooking shows.

While these factors have changed the industry as a whole, one of the more pronounced developments has been the role of women in the kitchen.

Continue reading →

Success Stories from Project Rise

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Project Rise participants at Kingsborough

Project Rise has been recognized as a highly successful program that re-connects young adults to education and employment. At Kingsborough, we have had amazing success with overall outcomes, increasing the number of enrolled participants, number of GEDs earned and increased employment with each cohort. What is even more significant is hearing the unexpected personal achievements of our participants—achievements that are not tracked by numbers, but recognized and highly valued by program staff, counselors and participants.

Despite an unexpected family illness and severe financial impediments, L.B. from Cohort 1 stayed on track with the help of counselors. On top of earning his GED, L. also started a clothing line and opened his own business. His story returns full-circle with his business becoming an internship site for current/future Project Rise participants.

Continue reading →

New Year, New GED at Project Rise

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Kingsborough’s Project Rise participants, Brooklyn, NY

Since our November post about the new GED, I met with Project Rise’s Associate Director, Dina LiMandri, to discuss the steps being taken to prepare for the new series of tests. Through meetings at the Young Adult Institute and at CUNY Central, Project Rise instructors have been receiving training to ensure they have the most updated information. Continue reading →

Nutrition Education

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Tomato harvest KCC Urban Farm, summer 2013

Great news from the USDA. A study on SNAP-Education finds that nutrition education programs can lead to healthier food choices by participants. The study followed programs in 3 US states (Michigan, Iowa and Kentucky) that were designed to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in children and seniors. Two out of the 3 programs showed significant increases of at-home fruit/vegetable consumption and all programs showed greater participation appreciation towards healthier food options. You can read more about this study here. 

At the KCC Urban Farm in Brooklyn, we encourage not only healthy eating, but also a more holistic understanding of larger food systems. Our demonstrations include side-by-side comparisons of conventional vs. farm-grown fruits/vegetables and a hands-on look at what happens to food we throw away (yay compost!). Kingsborough’s Culinary Arts program even benefits from our ultra-local harvests. We hope to have a Farm-integrated nutrition program on campus in the future, so stay tuned.