Neighborhood Food Solutions, Inc.

to equip the Black Village with knowledge and skills so they can live healthy and be self-sufficient
to create a safe Black-owned space for farmers and entrepreneurs to thrive and feel supported
We teach people how to eat good, but we also want them to know why they are eating good. For them to pass that on to their kids and family too. And continue to help out their communities and neighborhoods. By giving them good, safe, affordable food.

Neighborhood Food Solutions, Inc is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our funds are exclusively used towards charitable activities recognized by the Internal Revenue Service.

DONATE TODAY

Program for Entrepreneurial and Agricultural Training

(PEAT)

Prior to the formation of NFS in 2016, Robert Pierce had always committed to teaching young people about agriculture. He was a pivotal leader in bringing Growing Power to Madison and launching Badger Rock Neighborhood Center. In 2007, the Program for Entrepreneurial and Agricultural Training (PEAT) was created in partnership with Dane County Planning and Development and South Madison Farmers’ Market to engage youth in urban farming.

PEAT is a summer employment program which offers teens mentorship, job training and hands-on experience working on a farm and local market. Trainees receive an introduction to agriculture, learning how to identify plants, crop rotation and crop cultivation. They are immersed in the day-to-day responsibilities like irrigation, weeding, machine and tool maintenance. In addition, trainees learn what happens after the farm - how to cook and the business side of running a farmers market, like inventory management, budgeting, marketing, and sales.

Ages 14-20 are able to apply at any time by submitting an employment form

The 10-week program operates seasonally from mid-June until late-August

Trainees can be scheduled up to 20 hours per week, weather permitting

Hours are typically from 8am-12pm, Monday - Friday

Apply

Farming After Incarceration Release

(FAIR)

Each year 500-700 individuals are released from prison and return to Dane County. Mostly African American men, these ex-offenders often find themselves homeless and jobless. These factors create a high-risk situation for failing at reentry and many will end up re-offending and going back to prison. In order to help these individuals and others as well as building community welfare everyone, The Farming After Incarceration Release (FAIR Initiative or FAIR) was created.

This program engages formerly incarcerated individuals in urban agriculture to create an economic opportunity for themselves, families, and neighbors. Not only does it provide a way for a successful reentry process, but also it involves them in cultivating a just local food systems in their own communities.

FAIR links a reentry program with urban agriculture. The goal of the program is to take formerly incarcerated individuals and turn them into food justice leaders for their communities. FAIR provides an opportunity for reentering individuals to break out of the incarceration cycle. The program includes 200 days of paid urban farming and business training. Each participant receives a plot of land to grow crops and a spot at the South Madison Farmers’ Market to sell and profit from everything they have grown. The goal is to provide skills and experience to make trainees self sufficient and eventually become their own Neighborhood Food Solution.