About CFAMThe Center for Food as Medicine, Inc. is a NYC-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit working in evidence-based health and nutrition research, education and community programming, led by Executive Director Charles Platkin.Our Food for Change program runs hydroponic tower gardens inside Bronx public high schools. Each school assigns faculty leads and a student group who work the towers alongside us, so the produce is grown by the students in the building where it gets eaten. We are growing toward 25 to 30 sites.Position OverviewThe Farm Manager keeps our tower garden network alive across six Bronx sites and helps open the next ones. Sites sit on two circuits, central and west Bronx (Arthur Ave, Bathgate Ave, Mapes Ave, E 180th St) and east Bronx (E 172nd St and the Boynton Ave campus). You travel between them on your own and set your own route.Most days you are by yourself in a school building, deciding what a plant needs and acting on it with nobody to ask. This is hands-on growing work.Key Responsibilities
Maintain tower gardens across all active sites: plant health, nutrient levels, pH, lighting and water systems
Diagnose and fix equipment, irrigation and crop problems on the spot
Run planting, harvest and distribution schedules
Log every planting, harvest and distribution in our mobile tracking app on the day it happens, including harvest weights and plant counts
Train and supervise the student group and faculty leads at each school
Act as CFAM's main point of contact with principals and facility staff
Keep supplies and equipment stocked across sites
Support grant reporting with the data you collect
Help set up and launch new sites as the program expands
Required
Two or more years of hands-on growing: hydroponics, urban farming, horticulture or similar. You have personally kept a system alive.
Working knowledge of hydroponic systems (tower gardens, NFT, deep water culture or comparable)
Comfortable around high school students
Your own smartphone with reliable service and at least 2GB of free storage kept available. You will use two apps daily, our logging tool and a timestamp video app. No device is provided. This is the most common reason this role has not worked out before.
Able to lift 50 lbs, be on your feet in indoor grow conditions, and haul supplies between buildings
Able to travel independently between Bronx sites
Available weekdays during school hours. The work follows the school calendar.
Already living in the NYC area, Bronx preferred. No relocation. A commute over an hour does not work for this role.
Preferred
Experience in schools, nonprofits or community organisations
Bilingual in English and Spanish
Food safety knowledge or ServSafe certification
Degree in agriculture, environmental science, public health or a related field, or equivalent hands-on experience
Why this job
You run a real network, not a demonstration plot. Six sites now, 25 to 30 planned.
You decide how the growing gets done. Nobody is standing over you.
The produce goes to the students who grew it, in the building where it grew.
Small team, direct line to the Executive Director.
