Request for Proposals: Northeast Valley Urban Fruit Park
Netiya is thrilled to announce our Request for Proposals for participation in the Northeast Valley Urban Fruit Park. Selected project partners will receive funding, training, and full program support to create urban orchards on their faith-based institutional land. Our Northeast Valley Urban Fruit Park will be a network of fruit orchards stewarded by congregations and faith communities of all backgrounds. The Urban Fruit Park will bring nutritious food, shade, and a valuable slice of nature to underserved communities in the San Fernando Valley, furthering Netiya's mission of connecting communities to food production and to each other.
Project requirements:- You are a faith institution (church, synagogue, mosque, non-profit, religious school, etc.) located in the Northeast San Fernando Valley.
- Your institution is either located in, or otherwise serves, a disadvantaged community (for example, your church is located in a low-income neighborhood, or your synagogue has an established food pantry program).
- You have a full-sun area for five full-sized fruit trees (10 ft apart) to serve as your orchard. Larger spaces for more fruit trees are preferred.
- Water is accessible to the site.
- Your institution is committed to raising a minimum of $500 to match funding toward your orchard project.
- You commit to stewarding the orchard at your institution, and can demonstrate capacity to do so for at least 3 years.
- You agree to include Netiya's name and branding in project signage, announcements, and related material.
Applications to Netiya are due by midnight on September 16, 2016. Selections will be made by September 23, 2016. FAQWhat is an Urban Fruit Park?An Urban Fruit Park is an emerging idea in urban forestry and community agriculture. Community gardens have long been looked to for enhancing access to healthy food, stewarded and maintained by community members themselves. However, land for community gardens can be hard to find and gardens can be difficult to sustain over time. An Urban Fruit Park can provide some of the same benefits as community gardens but tend to be easier to maintain and more water-wise in the face of LA's ongoing drought. Fruit trees can produce hundreds of pounds of food and can have a lasting impact on the community. Netiya's project will include diverse fruit trees and different institutions throughout the NE Valley.How will my congregation/community benefit from being part of Netiya's Urban Fruit Park Project?Congregations with orchards in the Urban Fruit Park will be able to utilize their space for gardening and tree care workshops, events, and of course, reap the benefits of the trees themselves--the fruit! Fruit grown is for your community use, it can also serve existing food pantry and food donation projects. The orchards will provide a way for congregations to give back to their surrounding community by providing healthy food, shade, community space, and educational space to replace underused lands that just amplify the heat.Who will pay for the cost of the project and my orchard?Aside from the $500 or more match that your institution will raise, Netiya and our partners will cover the initial startup costs to install and irrigate your orchard. The match you raise will be for your future project needs. Netiya is in the process of applying for the remaining grant funding needed for this project, which will cover costs for the qualifying project partners.
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This Fall, join us on Food Day! Netiya is convening a Food, Faith, and Fieldwork Symposium. Our 2016 event will be held on October 23rd, 3-7pm at the Prince of Peace Episcopal Church in Woodland Hills which boasts a two-acre fruit orchard (installed by Netiya and Seeds of Hope), a community garden, and an interfaith food pantry that feeds 3000 people monthly). Family-friendly! Come and experience a first 'taste' of the upcoming collaboration, Bread & Salt, a series of exhibitions and programs, launching Fall 2017, to explore contemporary, historic and ritual aspects of food at the Faith and Field Symposium.
Interested in sharing your expertise on Food & Faith? Have a Fieldwork project to showcase? Contact info@netiya.org today!
Sponsorship Opportunities: Netiya has made considerable efforts into developing sponsorship opportunities for congregations, individuals, and corporations. Each sponsorship level offers a variety of great opportunities. We welcome your partnership. |
Intern/Volunteer to GROW with Netiya!
We're looking for committed student interns who want to dive into growing food in LA's faith sector.
What We Require:
*Strong communication skills
*Creativity, flexibiity
*Fluency with social networking
*Passionate about nutrition and food justice
*Interest in nonprofit management and community development
These positions are unpaid internships that will provide you with hands-on experience in community organizing. Requires a minimum 3-hour weekly commitment for three months. Please email your bio, and a writing sample and send to: info@netiya.org. |
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