Shefa Teen Programming
שפע, or Shefa - Hebrew for Abundance – is a paid teen educational internship centered on meaningful work outside, community building and Jewish Land Justice values. A Jewish background is not required! In fact, we enthusiastically welcome and encourage people of all cultures to participate and contribute their perspectives.
We welcome both new and returning teens to work alongside each other on our community farm to help grow food for our community while having fun outside together. Activities will include learning ecologically integrated farm skills like building soil, low-impact crop management, pollinator plant care, harvesting medicinal and food crops and preserving crops for future enjoyment. In addition to these skills, teens will spend time each day exploring topics of food and land justice through the lens of Jewish tradition.
Fall Shefa applications are now open! See below for program details.
Want to get paid to learn and work outside while building the skills to create a more beautiful, just, sustainable world?
Applications for Fall 2025 are now open!
Fall Shefa is an 8-week, after school program for past participants of Shefa programs that meets on Abundance Farm on Monday and Thursday afternoons from 4:00-6:00 PM. This year, Fall Shefa will begin on September 8 and run until October 30. Fall Shefa interns will be receive a $30 daily stipend.
NEW THIS SEASON! We are looking for two different types of Shefa interns.
Farm Intern (the classic option): 4 hours a week with a focus on meaningful outdoor work and community building. Tasks may include but are not limited to weeding, harvesting, pruning, planting, shlepping, turning compost, mulching, and more.
Social Media Intern (a new experiment!): 4 hours a week - 2 hours with the Shefa Farm Intern team doing farm work and community building and 2 floating hours helping to create social media content for Abundance Farm. In addition to farm tasks, this could include but isn’t limited to attending and documenting community events on the farm, blog-style program reports, filming and editing videos for social media, taking photos, and posting on Abundance Farm’s Instagram/Facebook.
Click here to apply to be a farm intern.
Click here to apply to be a social media intern.
Applications are due on Monday, September 1.
Other Shefa offerings:
Summer Shefa: In the summer we welcome both new and returning teens to work alongside each other on our community farm to help grow food for our community and discuss food justice topics while having fun outside together.
This year, Summer Shefa will begin on July 7th and run until August 15th. For both Apprentices and Trainees, Summer Shefa will be held Monday through Friday, 8am - noon.
Shefa Trainees is a 3-week, hands-on, paid seasonal internship for young people entering 8th-10th grade who have never participated in Shefa programming before. Participants receive a stipend of $25/day.
The Shefa Trainees program is split into two 3-week sessions. Applicants can request to attend one or both sessions on their application.
Session 1: July 7 - July 25
Session 2: July 28 - August 15
Shefa Apprentices is a 6-week long paid internship program that runs from July 7 to August 15 and includes honing low-impact farming skills, mentorship of trainees at Abundance Farm, and off-site visits to nearby food justice partners. (If transportation is a barrier for applying, we have travel stipends available.)
This program is intended for past participants of Shefa at Abundance Farm, though young people entering 11th and 12th grade who have not participated in Shefa programming before are also welcome to apply. Participants receive a stipend of $35/day.
Applications for Summer 2025 are now closed.
Spring Shefa is a 5-week, after school program for past participants of Shefa programs that meets on Abundance Farm on Monday and Wednesday afternoons from 4 - 6 PM.
This year, Spring Shefa will begin on April 28th and run until May 28th. Spring Shefa interns will be paid $15/hour.
Applications for Spring 2025 are now closed.
Core Components of Shefa Teen Programs
Meaningful Work Outside
Participants will learn and practice:
Seeding, planting, plant care, harvesting, mulching, seed saving, and compost production;
Growing food to share with our community;
Working outside in all kinds of weather: hot, rainy, muggy, and cold!
Community Building
Participants will engage in the work of:
Developing personal and community practices in reflection, awareness, and growth;
Exploring personal social identities and how they relate and intersect with our food system and community;
Developing leadership skills and exploring our capacity to create change at Abundance Farm and in the wider local food system
Jewish Food Justice
Participants will engage with questions such as:
What is food justice?
What can Jewish tradition teach us about food justice?
How can we be part of building a more just food system?
Shefa is for participants of any or no faith backgrounds.
Questions?
Feel free to reach out to our farm education staff with any questions at avi@abundancefarm.org
The Shefa program of Abundance Farm is made possible, in part, through the support of the Jewish Federation of Western Mass.
