Join the Hell’s Kitchen Farm Project Youth Summer Internship!

 

 

Are you an NYC high school student interested in sustainability and food justice? Do you want to get paid to learn how to grow veggies, care for bees and other pollinators, and advocate for food justice in your community? Are you eager to meet other young people who care about people and the planet?

 

During your HKFP Youth Summer Internship you will: 

• Help care for a rooftop garden and apiary (aka beehives) that provides food for a community food pantry

• Go on field trips to visit other urban farms and green spaces around the city

• Visit a working farm in New Jersey and help with a day’s harvest

• Learn about ways we can build a better food system that benefits everyone, especially food workers, BIPOC, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

• Explore exciting career opportunities in agriculture and food justice 

• Gain important job skills such as workplace safety, food preparation and handling, hospitality, and team building 

 

Dates: Wednesdays & Thursdays, July 8 - August 13, 2026.

 

Time: 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

 

Cost: None. 

 

Application deadline: April 15, 2026.

 

Please read our factsheet and FAQs BEFORE submitting your application. You will also be required to submit a short essay and cover letter. You can find detailed instructions and a template for doing so here. Further questions? Email info@hellskitchenfarmproject.org for more information. 

 

After you submit your application, we will reach out to you to schedule an interview and discuss your resume and goals for the program. 

 

Please note: our farm is only accessible via four flights of stairs. Our Summer Youth Farm Internship is physically demanding and will require students to regularly navigate the stairs and lift up to 20 pounds.

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Frequently Asked Questions:

 

What is food justice?   

At HKFP, our vision of food justice is for everyone in Hell's Kitchen and beyond to have access to plenty of healthy, nutritious, culturally preferred foods. We also believe everyone involved in producing that food should be well paid, protected from exploitation, and enjoy safe working conditions. We work towards this goal by growing healthy food on our rooftop that is distributed in our food pantry.

 

Who is eligible to apply?

Any New York City high school student is eligible to apply. Priority will be given to students who have completed 9th grade through recent high school graduates, though students entering 9th grade in Fall 2026 are also encouraged to apply. For this program, a “New York City high school student” is defined as a student who attends a high school in one of the five boroughs or whose primary residence is within the five boroughs.

 

What kinds of places will we visit for our field trips? 

We will visit different urban gardens and conservation sites around New York, as well as a large working farm outside the city. Transportation and/or MTA fares to and from the field trips will be provided. In 2024, we visited the green roof at the Javits Center, Oko Farms, Bushwick City Farms and Nolasco Farms in New Jersey. In 2025, we also visited the New York Hall of Science and foraged in Inwood Hill Park.

 

What if I have little/no experience growing food?

No worries! The purpose of this internship is to empower you with knowledge about where your food comes from. No previous experience is required.

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For more information, check out our full Fact Sheet and FAQ document here.

 

This position reports to the HKFP Advisory Board, an auxiliary board of Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries. Send inquiries to Chrisaleen Ciro, HKFP Board member and RMM Food Justice Coordinator, at cciro@rmmnyc.org with the subject line “HKFP Summer Internship.”