AmeriCorps - Farming and Gleaning Associate
ORGANIZATION: Clark County Food Bank
Please visit the new page to apply.
Status: Stipend Position
Compensation: Living Allowance
Plus Education Award once term completed
Commitment : 10 months, 40 hours per week (Starting September, 2017)
Please Visit AmeriCorps Website Prior to Applying to Confirm Benefits and Expectations: https://washingtonservicecorps.org/.
Clark County Food Bank Overview:
As a grower, gleaner, and supplier of food for the hungry and food insecure, Clark County Food Bank is the critical link between food and people in need. The food bank’s mission is to "alleviate hunger and its root causes in Clark County." Hunger is primarily addressed through the distribution of food to our network of 35+ partner agencies and meal-serving organizations which in turn directly serve needy seniors, individuals, families, and children of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
While hunger often goes unseen, it is quietly eroding the strength and stability of our community and robbing dignity from adults, productive futures from our children, and health from all. Our two-part mission statement not only includes providing emergency food to hungry individuals and families, it also provides them opportunities to learn about health alternatives that offer a positive way out of dependence on long-term food assistance for themselves and their children. Our Farming & Gleaning Program (along with our Nutrition Education Program) form the basis for fighting "root causes."
General Description:
With the guidance and support of the Program Manager, the Farming and Gleaning Associate will organize and manage volunteer’s, procure fruits and vegetables through farming and gleaning, and partner with local farmer’s markets for donations. All efforts will result in increased amounts of fresh produce to vulnerable populations who face poverty. Clark County Food Bank is seeking an individual with strong leadership skills and an interest in food systems.
Responsibilities:
- Develop and grow community partnerships
- Farm relations and grower outreach
- Volunteer recruitment
- Volunteer training & tracking for harvesting events
- Produce collection and harvest
- Coordination of produce transportation and delivery
- Create, distribute, and collect client surveys with partner agencies
- Collate total harvest weights and numbers from each farming effort
- Willingness to get hands dirty and work in farming fields
Skills:
- Ability to set and meet goals, prioritize, plan, and manage work independently
- Understand and work successfully with a variety of cultures
- Ability to recruit, train, and support volunteers
- Possess strong communication and interpersonal skills
- Have experience with and knowledge of creating sustainable food systems and/or farming practices
- Able and willing to work as a team member and independently as needed
During the growing season (June - August) this position will require nonstandard workplace hours including early mornings, weekday evenings, and/or weekends.
Clark County Food Bank is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Provider, and we encourage applications from candidates who can contribute to the diversity of our organization.
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About Clark County Food Bank
Location:
6502 NE 47th Ave, Vancouver, WA 98661, US
Mission Statement
The Clark County Food Bank strives to alleviate hunger and its root causes in Clark County, Washington.
Description
Clark County Food Bank originated in 1985 as the Clark County Food Bank Coalition. This coalition was a consortium of local hunger relief agencies that banded together to take advantage of available federal, state and county resources in their effort to provide assistance to hungry people in Clark County. The Salvation Army (TSA) became the lead agency for the coalition in 1995 and leased a building in Hazel Dell which to this day houses TSA's Family Services Center and CCFB's 8,000 square foot Stop Hunger Warehouse; which operates as the central food bank for our area.
In 2004 TSA decided it would be in their best interests to move the Family Services Center to a location 'owned' by them. During the same period it had become very clear that the leased site was wholly inadequate to meet growing need in the county and that a new site was not just desirable, but an absolute and urgent necessity. While TSA remains as our lead agency they were unwilling to be the driving force toward securing a new site for the food bank. This led to an appeal to attract members of our community to form a group whose purpose would be addressing the siting issue. It was determined that the scope of activities and mission of the original Coalition needed to be broadened beyond the structure of the organization at that time, which led to several key changes. The by-laws were revised, a board of directors was elected and Clark County Food Bank was born, becoming the successor of the Coalition's 501 (c) (3) non-profit designation.
As the search for a more suitable building continued, the county learned of our mission and suggested the concept that we construct a new distribution facility as part of the redevelopment of a 79 acre property in Hazel Dell that Washington State University had been operating as an agricultural experimentation site since 1949, but was preparing to cede back to the county. WSU has since returned the property to County ownership and the County is pursuing various options that maintain the agricultural history and nature of the site in cooperation with WSU and many other interested parties, including CCFB.
Until recently our primary plan and focus has been to construct our new building as part of the 78th St. Project. While we greatly appreciate the County's offer of a long term lease for property on the parcel, various considerations have led us to rethink this concept and we have elected to terminate our letter of intent in order to pursue other opportunities.
Our capital campaign for funding continues with grants and donated monies now dedicated to the purchase of 2.09 acres of property in the Cold Creek Industrial Park located in Hazel Dell and the construction of our new central warehouse and distribution center.
In the meantime, with TSA as our lead agency and providing critical support, CCFB continues to operate Stop Hunger Warehouse as the central food bank serving Clark County. The continued support of our community in the effort to alleviate hunger is very much appreciated and we at CCFB fully intend to further that effort from a world-class operation at the earliest possible date.
CAUSE AREAS
WHEN
WHERE
6502 NE 47th AveVancouver, WA 98661
DATE POSTED
April 27, 2017
SKILLS
GOOD FOR
N/A
REQUIREMENTS
- Driver's License Needed
- Full-Time
- Hunger Relief, Farming, Gleaning, Community