Greetings from the Treasure Island Job Corps Center Urban Farm Coordinator!  I’m so happy to be here and incredibly excited about what we’re going to accomplish together in the form of this Urban Farm.  An amazing vision and some great designs were already waiting for me when I arrived, and I’ve picked up the torch to help make this project a reality in the coming months. 

The farm itself was conceived as a way to grow food for the cafeteria, the culinary program, Job Corps Center staff and students, as well as Island residents and to give our students the competitive advantage in farm-to-table training.  The Bay Area is rife with wonderful chefs that champion fresh, locally-grown produce and understand the complex connections between seasonality, varietal selection and climate on the growing end, with taste and preparation on the cooking end; how progressive is TIJCC that our culinary program will be teaching students to appreciate the same connections and our vocational trainees will be gaining valuable on-the-job-training in how to construct an urban farm?! 

The Farm will allow us, as a Treasure Island Community, to begin to understand the excitement of growing and eating locally, sustainably grown food, something especially meaningful to a community that lacks a traditional grocery store.  From learning what kinds of plants will grow in our climate, to understanding how to harvest produce at the peak of flavor and ripeness, and even closing the loop by recycling our food waste back into the soil, the TIJCC Farm will be an incredible place of learning for anything and everything we’re hoping to teach our students.  

Keep your eyes on the blog for periodic updates on our farm progress!