Plant the Pavement!

First Annual Urban Agriculture Workshop Series withWill Allen, MacArthur Genius Award winner & founder of Growing Power Co-hosted by Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and Raleigh’s Longview School Youth Workshops Nov. 8-9, 2012 Community Workshop Nov. 10 & 11, 2012

RALEIGH, NC – Sept. 12, 2012 – Inter-Faith Food Shuttle (IFFS) and Longview School partnered in late 2011 to become the latest Regional Outreach Training Center for Growing Power, an internationally recognized urban agriculture organization started by MacArthur Genius Award winner Will Allen. We are proud to announce our first annual Plant the Pavement! Workshop Series, a collaborative effort to bring Growing Power’s innovative model of food production and community empowerment to North Carolina. Inter-Faith Food Shuttle is the only Growing Power Regional Outreach Training Center in North Carolina, and the only one in the country with a focus on training young people.

  • Plant the Pavement! Community Workshop:
    • What? A two-day weekend workshop modeled after Growing Power’s From the Ground Up series. Half-day break-out sessions will be taught by Will Allen and other educators from Growing Power and will include hoop house construction, compost/vermiculture, aquaponics, and year-round production of microgreens. Each participant can choose up to 2 sessions, or concentrate on one topic for the entire weekend. Breakfast and a locally-sourced hot lunch will be provided both days.
    • When? The weekend of November 10 & 11, 2012. Sessions will run from 8:30am to 6:00pm Saturday, and from 8:30am to 5:30pm on Sunday.
    • Where? Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s new Urban Ag Training Center at 500 Hoke St. in Southeast Raleigh.
    • Who? This community workshop is open to anyone who is interested in learning more about the sustainable production of healthy food, whether on a home, business, or community scale. No previous experience in agriculture is necessary.
    • Cost? Early-bird registration is $145 for the weekend, and will be available until October 1, after which the cost of an adult registration is $185. Student registration is $125. Work trades and scholarships are available to those with financial need. Registration documents in Spanish and live interpretation during the event are both available. Contact Shosha Capps at (919) 322-8878 or shosha@foodshuttle.org for more information, to apply for a scholarship or worktrade, or to request paper registration documents in English or Spanish.

Online registration, workshop schedule and session details are available at http://www.rsvpbook.com/plantthepavement2012

  • Plant the Pavement! for Triangle Youth:
    • What? Full-day urban agriculture workshops for youth led by experts from Growing Power, IFFS, and Wake County Public Schools. Hands-on sessions will cover the basics of sustainable urban food production, including hoop house season extension, vermicomposting, aquaponics, mushrooms, and microgreens. Will Allen will be on-site to discuss how these types of enterprises can empower youth to help their families and communities eat healthier while generating income and jobs. Inter-Faith Food Shuttle will lead a new classroom session on food justice in NC.
    • When? School groups can choose to attend either Thursday, November 8, or Friday, November 9. Workshops will run from 8:30am – 1:30pm.
    • Where? Longview School, 318 N. King Charles Road, Raleigh, NC.
    • Who? Any class or other organized group of high school-age youth interested in agriculture, sustainability and social justice is welcome to apply. Space is very limited and classes will be accepted on a first-come first-served basis. Teachers/Organizers, please contact Shosha Capps at (919) 322-8878 or shosha@foodshuttle.org to request youth application materials before Oct. 1 for the best chance to reserve a spot.
    • Cost? The youth workshops are FREE. A healthy breakfast and lunch will be provided.​

About Inter-Faith Food Shuttle www.FoodShuttle.org At Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, we build people, jobs and a hunger-free community. Our programs empower people to meet their own food needs and grow a local food system that feeds everyone healthy, nutritious food. Our mission is to pioneer innovative, transformative solutions designed to end hunger in our community.

We feed, teach and grow across many different programs, spanning food distribution, nutrition education, job training and urban agriculture. These programs range from the traditional to the groundbreaking –from grocery bag distribution to cooking & nutrition classes to Culinary Job Training to teaching the next generation of farmers.

About Longview School http://longview.wcpss.net Longview School is a public separate school, serving students in grades 6-12 who have experienced behavioral difficulty at a regular school setting. Longview offers small class sizes and a structured behavioral management program. Longview School partners with Inter-Faith Food Shuttle to grow an on-campus garden where students gain both agricultural and leadership skills and are empowered to take active roles in creating a more just and sustainable food system.