Farmscape is seeking a part-time urban farmer for the Western San Fernando Valley. We anticipate the position will grow to full-time work within a year.

Job Responsibilities:

• Make weekly visits to yards of Farmscape members at regularly scheduled times
• Manage all aspects of annual vegetable cultivation from planning and planting plots to leaving a harvest on each member’s doorstep
• Prune, fertilize and thin fruit from home orchards when needed
• Keep detailed records during weekly visits
• Maintain good relationships with members, both in-person and via phone/email
• Adhere to Farmscape best practices in managing farms
• Communicate promptly with supervisor regarding supply needs and unexpected garden issues
• Communicate with sales staff regarding newly installed farms and add them to the weekly route in a  timely manner
• Offer garden consultation hours as scheduled
• Attend staff meetings and training sessions as required
• Represent Farmscape in a fun but professional manner

My parents and my siblings are all doctors or doctors-in-training, and yet they have very unhealthy eating habits. I’m the black sheep, I am not a doctor nor a medical student, instead I studied poetry in school and now work for an urban farming company. I never had an interest in medicine because seeing blood makes me want to pass out. Despite my family’s medical knowledge they aren’t the healthiest eaters; lo and behold, I have the best eating habits in the family. I eat mostly follow a vegan diet while my family prefers Fat Boy ice cream sandwiches, twinkies, and steak.

However, I am convinced that my family is not solely responsible for their eating habits. I grew up and my family still lives in Des Moines. Iowa is a truly progressive state in many ways, but it is lacking in an area where should succeed: food. In the 1970’s the heartland became a mecca for processed food, government subsidies, and the monoculture crops we are accustomed to today.

Lauren Lloyd at LAist wrote up our farm-forward design for Los Angeles City Hall, and it sounds like she is a fan:

Included in the plan, which you can view here, is a native woodland garden, an employee native garden walk, enhanced historical gardens, a citrus tree grove (!!!), farm-forward landscape, informal and formal lawn areas, a native berry and edible garden and an enhanced sloped lawn area. As part of the farm-forward landscape, City Hall employees would have access to vegetables grown in raised planters, with surplus to go to the needy. An educational garden to teach children how to grow food is also part of the master green plan.

Are you in favor of including edible gardens and fruit trees in the City Hall design? Click here to give the Department of Recreation and Parks your feedback.