Company description

Global Growers increases the number of food producers who create access to healthy, sustainably-grown food and also prepares commercial farmers to be competitive in their local marketplace.

Global Growers grew out of the tremendous demand among international farmers, many of whom came to Atlanta as refugees of war. These farmers sought to reconnect to their agricultural heritage in their new home. Recognizing this exceptional talent, Global Growers connects local families to land, education, and markets in order to build healthier communities and to strengthen our local economy. Global Growers is committed to cultivating growing spaces and other resources for farmers  who are traditionally underserved by mainstream agricultural service providers and community food organizations.

Global Growers started in 2009 as a project of the local nonprofit Refugee Family Services and as of 2013 is an independent 501(c)(3) organization based in Atlanta, GA. Co-founders Susan Pavlin and Robin Chanin broke ground on our first farm site, Umurima - The Burundi Women’s Farm, in 2010 in the city of Decatur, GA. This was accomplished in partnership with a Burundian former agricultural extension agent and a Burundian preacher. Umurima is a women-managed community farm that produces food for the farm families families as well as for local market sales. That same year (2010), Susan Pavlin and Robin Chanin also began building relationships with community leaders in the Clarkston area who were already engaged or interested in pursuing opportunities in food systems in order to develop a network of projects and leaders to provide mutual support.

In 2012, Global Growers added three additional sites to bring nearly 20 acres of land under our management. Decatur’s Kitchen Garden is a 2-acre community garden. The Clarkston International Garden is a ½ -acre community garden. Bamboo Creek Farm is a 15-acre cooperative farm site used for commercial food production. Altogether, Global Growers manages four farm and garden sites, and supports a network of independently managed community, apartment, and home garden sites in DeKalb County.

Since our first season of growing, Global Growers has developed expertise in cooperative marketing systems to increase market access for partner farmers, as well as expertise in agricultural education and technical assistance for farmers from diverse lingual, cultural, and religious backgrounds. Global Growers has trained more than 200 unique food producers and sold nearly half a million dollars worth of produce on behalf of our partner farmers from 2010-2016.  

Internship description Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate for this internship has an understanding of web development and communicating effectively online. The candidate has a high degree of motivation, a commitment to excellence in meeting project goals, and is highly organized and attentive to detail. Ideally, the candidate has an understanding of the challenges that the lack of equity in small-scale agriculture has created for farmers identified by the USDA as “socially disadvantaged.”

Internship, Small Farm Food Safety Online Database Development

The intern will have an integral role in realizing the 2017 Georgia Small Farm Food Safety Campaign, which is a collaborative, statewide campaign aimed at strengthening small farm food safety practices and increasing the number of farmers who have food safety certifications. The intern will assist with researching and organizing farm safety information into an easily accessible online database.

While much of the Internship activities can be completed remotely, the intern must set a mutually agreed-upon weekly work schedule and physically attend bi-weekly meetings in the Stone Mountain/Atlanta area. The intern reports to the Wholesale Readiness Coordinator.

Primary Responsibilities

 Organize existing food safety training materials and resources suggested by the
collaborative Campaign Team (including Georgia Organics, the Georgia Fruit and
Vegetable Growers Association, Community Farmers Markets, Common Market
Georgia).
 Establish an online database of food safety resources using a logical structure for users to know where to look for information, have an easy-to- use interface to get them to that information, and that the information is easily-understandable and accessible for rural users with low bandwidth capabilities.
 Incorporate feedback from community partners and regulatory compliance experts, edit materials as appropriate, and generate polished, final drafts of training materials.
 Coordination with Communications Manager on website maintenance and updates as relevant.

Qualifications

 Bachelor’s degree
 Previous experience with web-design including finished products
 Excellent Microsoft Office skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), as well as experience with Google Drive.
 Demonstrate a general knowledge of coding
 Preferred: Experience working with diverse, multilingual and multicultural communities
 Preferred: Experience with coding is not necessary but is beneficial

Baseline Requirements

 Valid driver’s license, clean driving record and access to a reliable vehicle
 Ability to set and maintain a regular work schedule remotely, to connect virtually to the project team, and to meet in-person on a fixed bi-weekly schedule.

Compensation

This internship includes a $2,000 stipend for 8-10 hours a week from May 15th to September 1st, 2017. We will be able to offer some flexibility for the start/end dates to accommodate school and/or summer travel. Compensation this position is : stipend / non-monetary compensation
Application instructions DeadlineApril 15, 2017