May 26, 2023

An Introduction to the 2023 Urban Farming Internship

by: Aaron French, Manager of Urban Farm Initiatives

Pictured: 2023 Urban Farming Interns on the City Sprouts Urban Farm (5420 N 3rd Street)

As spring screeches to a quick close and summer is staring us all rudely in the face, we here at City Sprouts are beyond excited to introduce you to our newest group of Urban Farming Interns! Not only has our farm crew been busy getting thousands of plants and seeds in the ground, we’ve also been working diligently to bring 19 young leaders on board the City Sprouts team for our flagship three-month internship program. These young folks will work alongside City Sprouts staff, including our 🎉 new education assistant (and former intern) Rocky Huibregtse 🎉, to manage our seven acre urban farm in the Sherman neighborhood of northeast Omaha. Before we get much further, we have to thank our friends at Omaha Parks and Recreation for the continued use of the Sherman Community Center, which allows us all a cool place to eat lunch and relax close to the farm.

Pictured: 2023 Urban Farming Interns planting in-ground at the urban farm

Now in its second year of full operation, the City Sprouts Urban Farm will produce tens of thousands of pounds of produce for distribution to our community partners, including Bountiful Harvest Food Pantry and serve as an invaluable educational resource for interns and the broader Omaha community. In a first for City Sprouts, interns will prepare and manage a ¼ acre vegetable plot of their own design. We’re hopeful that this will allow interns to take full ownership over a large portion of our farm and help instill many of the skills learned in the early days of our internship program. While we’re still in the early stages of planning with them for this plot, we can already tell you there will be a ton of watermelons, so get ready for lots of exciting watermelon spitting contest photos in August. Through generous funding from the Dan Gillespie Soil Health Fund interns will also get to research, develop and implement resource conservation practices in their plot, instilling invaluable farming techniques for years to come!

In addition to working incredibly hard on the farm this summer, interns will also get the chance to dive deep into Omaha’s food system and communities through educational and volunteer opportunities all over Omaha. From touring the Food Bank for the Heartland (an indispensable partner in City Sprouts’ food distribution programs), neighborhood public art tours from the Union for Contemporary Art, and experiencing different forms of agriculture at Big Muddy Urban Farm, interns will engage with innovative organizations and individuals all over Omaha!

Before we wrap up with some wonderful photos of the first few days of internship action, we’d be remiss if we didn’t share a request to you, dear newsletter recipient. As our internship has grown in size and developed geographically (away from our home office in Orchard Hill), we’ve been stretching resources to transport our interns to the farm and all the various field trips and volunteer experiences throughout the summer. While caravanning and carpooling works for now, we’d really love to simplify things by transporting interns together (or at least in fewer vehicles). If you or someone you know is interested in donating a vehicle to City Sprouts (ideally a large van or even small shuttle bus, but truly we’re not picky!), please reach out to Aaron (aaron@omahasprouts.org / 402-504-1910). We know it’s a huge ask, but would be eternally grateful for your help conveniently and safely transporting the next generation of urban farmers, chefs and community leaders across Omaha!