2024 Institute

For over thirty years, The Food Project has operated at the intersection of youth development, sustainable agriculture and community-building. Through our Institute training events, we share our methods and models, our history, and the learning we’ve done to create our nationally recognized youth development and farming programs.

The next Institute will take place from Thursday 5/2/24 to Saturday 5/4/24. Register here or via the link below!

The Institute aims to create a tight-knit learning community over the three days. We immerse the group in as many facets of The Food Project as possible, visiting sites in three cities and towns where The Food Project works in both urban and suburban settings, and offering a full day of immersion into the organization’s youth programs. Participants will have the opportunity to meet numerous organization staff members (across all program areas) and youth participants. The agenda is as follows:

Dates and Curriculum

Day One: Youth Development Theory and Curriculum

8:30 AM – 4 PM, Thursday, 5/2/24: West Cottage Farm, Dorchester, MA 02125

Day Two: Agriculture, Food Distribution and Community Partnerships

8:30 AM – 4 PM, Friday 5/3/24: Baker Bridge Farm, Lincoln, MA 01773

Day Three: Deepening Learning through Youth Crew Immersion

8:30 AM – 4 PM, Saturday 5/3/24: Ingalls School Farm, Lynn, MA 01902

Pricing

The Food Project is offering access to the Spring 2024 Institute at a range of prices depending on your organizational or individual access to financial resources. This is an intentional effort to provide equitable access to this knowledge and experience to as many organizations and individuals as possible.

We provide basic guidance for rate tiers below, based on organizational scale, but these are only a rough guide and we ask you to reflect on the tier that best fits your circumstance as an organization or individual. If you have questions, please send an email to institute@thefoodproject.org to discuss the options.

Spring 2024 Institute Price Tiers

Cancellation Policy:

If circumstances change and you are unable to attend the Institute after registering, The Food Project will offer a 50% refund to individuals canceling by 4/14/24 and cannot offer refunds for cancellations after that date.

Transportation

In the interest of equity and accessibility, each site is available via public transportation and a short shuttle from The Food Project. Given the challenge of coordinating transit via commuter rail and city bus, however, most visitors will find it preferable to travel by private car to each site, if possible.

Please note: 

Out of care and respect for the many individuals in The Food Project’s community, we ask for your help mitigating the risk of Covid-19. We ask institute participants with cold-like symptoms or other Covid-19 symptoms to test themselves prior to attending the event. Any individuals testing positive for Covid-19 will be required to abstain from attending the event for at least 5 days, and thereafter attendance will be subject to the organization’s Covid-19 Protocols – please email institute@thefoodproject.org for more information. All individuals with cold-like symptoms are strongly encouraged to wear an N95 or KN95 mask while attending the Institute.

If you have questions about the Institute, please contact us at institute@thefoodproject.org and we will get back to you as soon as we are able!

Read what others have to say… 

“I enjoyed every minute of it, and left feeling inspired by all the new ideas, better prepared and equipped with relevant resources and actionable steps, and a community that validated my experiences and helped me feel not so alone.”

“The Food Project is one of the few organizations that I have seen where youth are respected, nurtured, educated, and socialized in a way that benefits them and all of us. There is no better model of youth and justice work that I have seen.”