FAQs 

+ About Just Food

How do I stay informed on all things Just Food?

To join our general mailing list and stay up to date on all things Just Food, please sign up here. Follow us on social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) for frequent updates about our conferences, events, and other work.

Where is the Just Food Office?

Just Food is a proud partner of Prime Produce, a grassroots guild for good located in Hell’s Kitchen that passionately supports entrepreneurs, educators, artists, and other groups with intentional missions. Prime Produce is our main co-working and event space; but the Just Food team continues to work more in the five boroughs in order to actively engage with our partners in our ongoing collaborative community projects.

Is Just Food a food pantry?

While we do advocate for food justice and accessibility of healthy food for all, Just Food is not a food pantry. To find a food pantry near you, please use one of the following tools: WhyHunger’s database, FeedNYC’s Emergency Food Relief Organization Directory, or Hunger Free America’s Neighborhood Guides to Food & Assistance, and/or Food Bank of NYC Map and Community Kitchen Info. If you are in immediate search of food, please call 311 for the pantry nearest you. Always check with the facility for availability and hours as capacity and offerings are subject to change.

+ CSAs & Farmers' Markets

What is a CSA?

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. CSAs are a volunteer-led, membership-driven food access model that directly connects a regional farmer to a group of individuals who want to buy locally grown, high quality, fresh produce. A member purchases a “share” of vegetables from a regional farmer before the start of the season. Every week or every other week (from June until November), your farmer will deliver that share of produce to a convenient drop-off location in your neighborhood. Some farmers also offer fruit, dairy, eggs, meat, and other local products as add-ons to their standard shares.

How do I find and sign up for a CSA near me?

You can use our Value Chain Map to find a CSA nearest you within the five boroughs. To sign up for one of the CSAs within the Just Food network you must contact the CSA site directly. Please note that CSA sign ups tend to happen in the early-to-late spring for summer shares, and generally begin in late summer for fall/winter shares. For more information on a particular CSA, please contact the site directly.

What is a Community-Run Farmer’s Market?

Just Food supports community members who want to play a direct role in increasing access to healthy food in their own neighborhoods by providing practical training on how to start a farmers’ market, fostering a peer-to-peer network with other market managers, and making connections to rural and urban growers. This unique approach to farmers’ markets creates opportunities for actual community residents to become market managers and determine who vends at that market to best meet the needs of the community. These markets aim to serve populations of all incomes with many accepting SNAP, EBT, FMNP, WIC vouchers, and Health Bucks. Please see our Community-Run Farmers’ Market flyer for a complete list of the farmers’ markets in our network.

How do I get involved with Just Food?

If you, your CSA site, or your Community-Run Farmer's Market would like to get involved with Just Food, join our network, or be featured on our Value Chain Map, please visit the Contact Us page to get in touch with us directly.

+ Farmers & Growers

How does Just Food work with farmers and growers?

Just Food aims to increase the viability of small-mid scale sustainable farmers/growers/producers within 250 miles of the city. We provide connections to CSAs and Community-Run Farmers’ Markets and have begun to ramp up building relationships with restaurants and other businesses. We are able to increase awareness of your business’s mission and operations through our Value Chain Map.

If I am a local farmer/grower/producer, how do I get involved with Just Food?

If you are a farmer/producer/grower and would like to be included on our map or receive more information, please fill out the Farmer & Producer Inquiry Form.

+ Community Food Education

How do I find out more about Just Food’s trainings?

In the past, we have offered Training of Trainers (ToT), Community Chef Training, Advocacy Training, and How to Start a CSA or Community-Run Farmers’ Market. Please complete the Core Training Inquiry Form if you would like to receive information on any of these trainings. Please also check out our social media for any updates on future trainings.

How do I become a Community Chef?

Just Food hosts periodic Community Chef Training for community members with interest and experience in cooking. We train interested individuals how to conduct cooking demonstrations in their communities that highlight local, seasonal food through simple recipes and basic cooking techniques. If you are interested in a potential training in the future, please fill out our Core Training Inquiry Form.

What is a Community Chef cooking demonstration and how do I request one at my event?

Community Chefs demonstrate simple cooking techniques that highlight local, seasonal vegetables and provide tips on how to incorporate these vegetables to fit individual and cultural preferences. Chefs connect with community members to discuss the health benefits of eating seasonally, incorporating plant based foods in their diet, and the importance of supporting local farmers. Chefs will distribute recipes and provide participants with easy to remember tips about where and how to purchase vegetables affordably as well as information about how to store, prepare, and care for their local, seasonal vegetables. If you are looking to have a cooking demo at your community event, organization, workshop, etc., please fill out the Cooking Demonstration Request Form and someone will get back to you shortly. Please provide us with at least 3-6 weeks advance notice of your event to schedule a cooking demo.

+ Work & Volunteer Opportunities

What internships or job opportunities do you offer?

Internships and job opportunities are posted on our website and via general e-blasts. Please join our mailing list and follow us on social media for updates.

Does Just Food offer group volunteer days for individuals or companies?

Just Food does not offer group volunteer days. However, we encourage groups to support our community partners on the ground. If you are interested in volunteering with Just Food please complete the Volunteer/Intern Registry.

How do I volunteer at a CSA site or Community-Run Farmer's Market?

If you are interested in volunteer opportunities with our community-based partners, (on site at CSAs, Community-Run Farmers Markets, gardens, farms, etc.), we suggest contacting them directly.

+ Urban Agriculture & Community Gardening

Just Food's work towards building a just and equitable food system means that we support urban agriculture and community gardening to facilitate resilience and create flourishing and thriving communities. Urban farms and community gardens provide substantive and concrete remedies for marginalized communities living in cities to move beyond our capitalist food system, charity models and food apartheid, and instead towards self-determination, and justice. By utilizing our collective knowledge, ancestral wisdom and social capital, we can move towards abundance, healing and community solidarity.