Beginning Farmer Apprenticeships

A program to place at-risk youth into farm-based summer apprenticeships, the Beginning Farmer Apprentice Program (BFAP), was launched in 2009 with a USDA grant secured by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and operated for several summers with support from private foundations. As a result of discussions that began around BFAP, the Windham Regional Career Center in 2011 launched its Program in Agriculture and Sustainable Foods (only the second Vermont career center to offer one), and BFAP was folded into its community mentorship program.