AmeriCorps Farm to School Specialist

Host Site: La Crosse County Extension Office
Position Title: Farm to School AmeriCorps Nutrition Educator
Site Supervisor: Nutrition Coordinator – Karie Johnson
Application Deadline: Open until filled

Overview:
Members will help teachers and school nutrition professionals by developing and implementing nutrition programs that will educate children about the benefits of making healthy eating choices. Members will assist with creating and implementing healthy food curricula including school or community garden development, cooking in the classroom programs or field trips to farms, and work with schools to help implement wellness programs. Members will share information with other Members to create a statewide network; and provide data and information to be used in a best practices’ guide that can be used by other schools.

Members will also serve as the main liaison between the schools and the community. They will educate food service directors about sourcing local, healthy foods for the school districts they serve and will create an action plan laying out the steps necessary to procure local food into their programs. They will also be responsible for recruiting and mobilizing volunteers to enhance and increase the capacity of the AC F2S program. This will include organizing a F2S Task Force within the school or community, recruiting farmers to present in the schools, organizing farm tours, and organizing snack preparation or food tastings. With the assistance of the site supervisors, they will create a database of volunteers for sustained program efforts. Additionally, members will work to connect with farmers in their community and add them to the Wisconsin Local Foods Database.

All Members will help develop strategies and build community stakeholders to make the Program sustainable; collaborate on how best to bring healthy foods into schools; collect data and track Program performance using measures such as the amount of local food purchased; attend training to support their roles; coordinate and facilitate local advisory committee meetings; and recruit and manage local volunteers.

Requirements:

  • Age Minimum: 18 years
  • Education Requirement: High School Graduate/GED
  • Strong interpersonal and problem-solving skills in a team setting
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills
  • Passion for inspiring healthful eating among youth and for promoting local, sustainable agriculture
  • Working knowledge of word processing and spreadsheet software and ability to efficiently navigate the internet
  • Ability to work independently
  • Ability to provide one’s own transportation for work purposes
  • Possession of a valid Driver’s License
  • Must be a U.S. Citizen, U.S. National, or lawful permanent resident alien
  • Must be able to completely pass a National Criminal History Check conducted by DPI-Human Resources before serving vulnerable populations as outlined in 45 CFR §2510.20

Desired Qualifications:

  • Experience in education, nutrition, environmental science, or agriculture
  • Experience working with youth in an educational setting
  • Volunteer or paid experience with socially, economically and/or ethnically diverse populations
  • Experience working with food service in schools, restaurants, or other institutions
  • Experience working with farmers
  • Skillful in establishing and maintaining professional work relationships
  • Experience recruiting and managing volunteers

Schedule:

  • The 2023-2024 service year will run from August 15, 2023 to August 14, 2024
  • Member orientation (mandatory for all members with minimal exceptions) will be both virtual and in-person this year
  • August 21-22, 2023 – Member pre-orientation (virtual, a few hours each day, exact times TBD)
  • August 28-30, 2023 – Member orientation (in-person at Treehaven UW-SP in Tomahawk, WI)

Compensation:
Full-time members (1700 hours)

  • Living allowance $30,600
  • Education award $6,895 (upon successful completion)
  • Health insurance
  • Childcare benefits (if income eligible)

Compensation:
Part-time members (900 hours)

  • Living allowance $16,200
  • Education award $3,447 (upon successful completion)Health insurance

Any benefits and terms and conditions of this Program, are available to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, marital or parental status, genetic information and military service.  It is also unlawful to retaliate against any person who, or organization that, files a complaint about such discrimination. In addition to filing a complaint with local and state agencies that are responsible for resolving discrimination complaints, you may bring a complaint to the attention of AmeriCorps.

How to Apply:
Complete application and submit it along with your resume and a letter of interest explaining why you feel you are a good match for the Healthy Schools Initiative F2S AmeriCorps position. 
Application can be found at: https://widpi.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3DAmoYokanboJNA
To submit application documents or for related questions please contact:
Karie Johnson
Nutrition Educator, La Crosse County Extension
Karie.Johnson@wisc.edu
608-785-9620