FoodCorps members converge on Detroit for field visits and training on local food systems

80 service members from across the nation to visit center of urban farm movement

DETROIT (Apr 12, 2013) – Nearly 100 service members and staffers of FoodCorps—the nationwide service program in which young leaders connect children to real food to help them grow up healthy—will gather in Detroit April 13–16 for training and field trips.

The convening will include a visit to D-Town Farm and a keynote address from Malik Yakini, executive director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, which operates D-Town. FoodCorps members will also share stories of success and discuss challenges and victories in revitalizing local food systems.

“Detroit is a logical and inspiring place for our gathering,” said FoodCorps Executive Director Curt Ellis. “The urban agriculture work there represents the power of community-based solutions.”

The FoodCorps conference will also include visits to Catherine Ferguson Academy For Young Women, Flint River Farm/King Karate and Earth Works Farm/Capuchin Soup Kitchen.

The current class of FoodCorps participants includes 80 service members and 12 FoodCorps Fellows devoting a year of national service to helping young kids develop lifelong relationships with healthy food. Service members work at 61 sites across 12 states building school gardens, teaching nutrition and bringing fresh, local food into cafeterias.

The organization, which is part of the AmeriCorps national service program, has members serving communities in both Detroit and Flint, Michigan with Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, Crim Fitness Foundation, Food Systems Economic Partnership and Wayne State University.

Last year its national team reached nearly 60,000 children, built or revitalized nearly 500 school gardens and donated over 11,000 pounds of produce to local communities.

“Detroit is demonstrating that growing food can be a way to feed yourselves and also a way to strengthen community and build a more sustainable future,” Ellis said.

About FoodCorps

FoodCorps is a nationwide team of leaders that connects kids to real food and helps them grow up healthy. FoodCorps places these leaders in limited-resource communities for a year of public service where they conduct hands-on food education, build and tend school gardens, and facilitate getting high-quality local ingredients into school meals.

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