Growing Together: Celebrating the 10th UFI Farmer Training Cohort
There are some milestones that deserve a little extra celebration.
This year, the Urban Farming Institute welcomed its 10th Farmer Training Program cohort, marking a decade of hands-on learning, skill building, and community rooted in urban agriculture. This cohort was especially meaningful because it also marked the return of the Farmer Training Program after a few years away.
Twenty-six trainees completed the program’s eight-week classroom training, building a foundation in urban agriculture, business planning, and growing practices. Six continued into the 20-week field training, spending the large part of a full growing season getting their hands in the soil across UFI’s farms as well as partner farms, learning from UFI staff, community, and each other along the way, and putting their knowledge into practice.
For 28 weeks, these trainees showed up. They asked questions, They tried new things. They faced old fears. They shared what they knew. They worked through hot days, long tasks, weeds, bugs, trellising, harvests, busy farm stand lines, and more than a few unexpected moments on the farm.
And somewhere along the way, they became a cohort.
Ten things you hear on the farm
Every group develops its own language, and the 10th cohort was no exception. When we asked trainees to reflect on their time in the program, they got together and came up with a list that feels like a perfect snapshot of having them at the farm with us.
10. “Where’s Kairo? He’s lost in the okra!”
9. “Has anyone seen my knife?” (This one shall remain nameless)
8. “Helen…BUG!”
7. “So, you know what I did…?” Sandra, usually preparing to tell us about her latest salt, salve, elixir, or experiment.
6. “I have a question.” Denise, naturally.
5. “Bio break. Is is 10:30?” Hakeema keeping everyone on schedule.
4. Renaming vegetables and plants. Criminal mushrooms. Midnight Romance. Tucson Melon. Gallon of Soda. The farm apparently has its own botanical dictionary.
3. “It’s all good.” Hakeema.
2. “Did you all see the…? Hear that…? Know about…?” Tracey, always keeping the group informed.
1. “Work smarter, not harder.” Rosanna.
And then there were the bonus tracks:
“Tracey, is this yours?”
“You can eat that.”
“Yeah, ah well yeah!”
“Don’t step in the beds.”
“Lalo.”
And, of course:
“SNAKE!” (Everyone except Kairo.)
These are the little moments that are part of what makes a cohort a community.
“An ancestral calling”
For Tracey Crawford, the experience was about more than learning how to grow vegetables.
“The UFI farmer training program was a great experience. I had fun, learned a lot, met wonderful people, and really enjoyed growing and eating fresh vegetables. It’s an experience I’ll always remember.
This journey has been an ANCESTRAL CALLING, bringing me back to the land to learn, grow, and carry the knowledge forward to the next generation.”
That sense of connection to land, knowledge, and one another was echoed throughout the cohort.
Denise reflected on the experience this way:
“After completion of the Farmer Training Program I have much love, respect and appreciation for the individuals who diligently work the urban farms to bring fresh foods to their communities. It is hard, yet also very calming work. It is truly a labor of love and has been a rewarding and wonderful experience.”
We couldn’t agree more.
Meet the cohort, in Hakeema’s words
One of the gifts of a cohort is that you don’t just learn from instructors. You learn from the people working beside you.
Hakeema Henry, MD, captured that beautifully in her reflections on the 20-week field training. Drawing from the daily field notes she kept throughout the experience, she wrote about the people who made this cohort special and the community they built together.
A reflection from Hakeema Henry, MD
“Revolution is based on Land. Land is the basis of all independence. Land is the basis of Freedom, Justice and Equality.”
—Malcolm X, A Message to the Grassroots, Nov. 10, 1963
As I reflect on my experience with the 20-week Farmer Training Program (FTP) at Urban Farming Institute (UFI), I reviewed the daily field notes I kept. These are my thoughts:
When you love what you do, it makes it easy to teach and easy to learn. This experience has allowed each of us to share, laugh, and bond while we seeded, watered, planted, irrigated, weeded and harvested our way through 20 weeks of experiencing 5 farms, several urban farm field trips, multiple technical education series, and of course, the FARM STAND! What I really enjoyed was the “Farm family” feel, as we navigated this course toward food sovereignty.
I can only express my feelings by raising a glass, (or lifting a carrot) to toast our Cohort.
Denise: The Inquirer. Without asking, she’ll let you know that she’s a “newbie,” but she has taught us all so much. Known to say, “I have a question,” she has kept everyone on their toes ensuring we all have an understanding and are getting the most out of this experience. She’s also a “Foodie” and ready to experience anything new, inviting all those who want to join. Cheers to you for giving your best to the team!
Kairo: The Strong, Quiet Type. A man of few words, but when he speaks, we all listen. He has the imagination, talent and humor of a Real Creative and has the quiet work ethic that we can mirror as a gold standard. Often some of the brightest parts of our days come from his Gen Z spirit and we somehow know that He. Will. Change. The. World. Cheers to you for giving your best to the team!
Tracey: The Reporter. Just thinking about Tracey makes us smile. Hearing her name usually makes us giggle. She tells some of the best stories and has some of the wildest insight. She makes us “Lean in” when she speaks and she takes us on a narrative ride that is either “crazy or genius” and we love it. Her demeanor makes the day fly by as we learn and work hard. Lighthearted and insightful, they say, “A word to the wise is sufficient,” and with her experience-based stories, and lyrical rap songs, she’s more than enough. She’s the Sister we all want to have. Cheers to you for giving your best to the team!
Sandra: The Experimenter. The Experiencer. Ever meet someone who’s doing it all and doing it well? That’s Sandra. She’s a “Grower” in every sense of the word. She has a farm here, a farm there, and will one day probably have a farm everywhere. Her life is one to model as she connects people, supports a healthy lifestyle, sustains family ties, and fashionably lives the life we would all life. She’s not afraid to try a thing. She dried the herbs, makes the salves, saves the seeds, makes the jewelry and made the first elderberry healing concoction that we all took a shot of in the back of the farm on Harold Street. Thanks. It’s still healing us. Cheers to you for giving your best to the team!
Rosanna: Our Hero. Known to say, “Work smarter, not harder,” she gets the job done. Showing us what’s medicinal, she’s always thinking a few steps ahead. Showing us how to weed meticulously, she seems to carry the right tools for the job. Putting her best foot forward, we know she can meet any challenge and definitely leave her mark. Cheers to you for giving your best to the team!
I am so grateful. I have to send a special shout out to Helen, Matt, Tris and Yves, (and the Production team, the UFI staff and the entire Farm Family). I would recommend this program to anyone who is interested because it honestly answered so many questions that I didn’t realize I had. I have a comfort in knowing that we can, and how we can have real food sovereignty in times such as this, and “We cultivate more than good food.”
Thanks, and grow strong,
Hakeema Henry, MD
FTP 2026
Once you’re part of the FTP family, you’re always part of the family
Completing the Farmer Training Program is not the end of the journey. It’s actually the beginning of becoming part of a growing UFI network.
Over the years, our alumni have taken what they’ve learned in many different directions, becoming farmers and growers, restaurant owners, educators, entrepreneurs, and community leaders. Today, our FTP alumni network includes 285 alumni and counting.
And sometimes, that path leads right back to UFI.
Tu Phan, an FTP alum, now shares his knowledge with the next generation through UFI’s youth programs. Tristram Keefe, a member of our very first Farmer Training Program cohort, is now helping teach the 10th.
We love a good closed loop.
That is part of what makes this milestone so meaningful. The knowledge doesn’t stop with one cohort. It gets carried forward, shared, adapted, and passed on.
What’s next?
To our 10th cohort: thank you.
Thank you for showing up for 28 weeks with curiosity, dedication, humor, questions, stories, and a willingness to learn from the land and from one another. Thank you for trusting UFI to be part of your journey, and for making this cohort what it became.
We are immensely proud of you, and we can’t wait to see where you go from here.
Wherever your next chapter takes you, you will always be part of the UFI family.
Keep growing. Keep learning. Keep sharing what you know. And, as Hakeema reminds us, grow strong.
If you are interested in joining our waitlist for the 2027 Farmer Training Program cohort, please email info@urbanfarminginstitute.org.