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Hiring: Springfield FoodCorps Service Member (multiple positions available)

Who We Are: FoodCorps is a nationwide team of AmeriCorps leaders that connects kids to real food and helps them grow up healthy. We do that by placing motivated leaders in limited-resource communities for a year of public service. Serving under the direction of local partner organizations, our service members focus on three areas of service:

● Hands-on learning: students grow, cook, and taste new foods, which builds their skills and
changes food preferences
● Healthy school meals: the cafeteria experience steers students towards the healthiest
options and gets them excited to try new healthy foods
● Schoolwide culture of health: as a whole, the school community and environment – from
hallways to classrooms to cafeteria to grounds – celebrates healthy food. We measure our
success in terms of changes in children, schools, and systems.

What We’re Looking For
• Passion for building a healthier future for school children
• Commitment to working hard in service of local communities in order to make a difference
• Demonstrated leadership ability
• Motivation to serve full-time in a limited resource community
• Perseverance in the face of challenges and creativity in finding solutions
• Respect for diversity of opinion, experience, and background
• Experience working in or studying food systems, agriculture, public health, education,
community organizing, or public service
• Experience working or volunteering in education, youth development, or other teaching setting
• Knowledge of the culture, history, and/or language of the communities we serve
• Desire to gain hands-on experience for your career
• Demonstrated ability or dedication to performing the activities listed below

To be considered for a FoodCorps service member position, you must:
• Be 18 years or older by the start of your service term
• Be a legal, permanent resident of the United States
• Hold a high school diploma, GED or equivalent
Individual service positions differ by location. There may be additional requirements depending on the
site to which you apply.

What You’ll Do
Service members work with schools, service site organizations and local communities to build healthy
school food environments. They do this in a variety of ways:
● Service members focus on teaching children in grades K-8 about food and nutrition in the
classroom by delivering engaging, hands-on lessons, integrating activities into subjects such
as math, science and history, working with teachers and school administrators to increase food
and nutrition education in curricula, and more.
● Service members grow healthy food with students, teachers, and community members in
school gardens, dynamic educational settings where kids can get their hands dirty and
experience what they’re learning first-hand. While some service members expand/maintain
already-existing school gardens, greenhouses and hoop houses, others work to establish new
gardens. Service members develop garden sustainability plans and recruit community
volunteers to ensure that the projects they start last into the future.
● Service members impact what’s for lunch by sourcing and promoting food from local farms for
cafeteria taste tests, working with school food directors and staff to integrate healthier foods
into breakfast, lunch and snack programs, and more.
● Service members help build schoolwide cultures of health by building strong, collaborative
relationships with teachers, families, and school administrators, recruiting and training
volunteers, organizing committees and running meetings, talking to press and public officials.
● Service members spend time learning and participating in trainings, helping FoodCorps and
schools assess the impact they are having, and raising money to help support the local
projects when allowable.

What You’ll Gain
• Up to $22,000 living stipend forpaid bi-weekly
• $6,095 AmeriCorps Segal Education Award, upon successful completion of your term of
service
• Health insurance*
• Partial childcare reimbursement, if you qualify
• Student loan forbearance, if you qualify
• Training, mentorship, and professional development opportunities
*Participation in the FoodCorps health insurance option is required if you cannot provide proof of
existing coverage.

Where You’ll Serve
In order to support statewide food system partners and programs, FoodCorps Massachusetts’ service
sites are clustered in the geographic regions of Boston, Greater Boston, the North Shore, and
Hamden County. Service members in Massachusetts benefit from living and serving in close
proximity to each other and have frequent opportunities for professional and social interaction through
gatherings, trainings, and alumni events.

Our service sites offer a variety of meaningful service opportunities; you may find yourself conducting
a cooking class with a group of 2nd-grade chefs, designing lessons on the food system for an afterschool club, offering a school wide taste test for 500 students, or inspiring teachers to bring their
students to the school garden you have cultivated for their interdisciplinary enrichment. Combine your
passions for healthy food, education, justice, and community building with a great service year in
Massachusetts!

The Details
In order to successfully complete your term of service, you must, at a minimum, serve 1,700
allowable hours between August 3, 2020 and July 16, 2021.

FoodCorps service members report to the designated supervisor at their service site. FoodCorps
state and national staff provide additional guidance and oversight.

Service members are expected to abide by rules of conduct set forth in their member contract and will
be evaluated for performance twice during the term: at the mid-point and end of service. Performance
is evaluated based on progress toward achieving goals set forth in your unique service plan as well
as general professional conduct in the service environment. Service members who break the rules of
conduct may be suspended and/or terminated at any time.

FoodCorps is a proud member of the AmeriCorps network. All FoodCorps service members are fulltime AmeriCorps members and are therefore bound by AmeriCorps rules and regulations, including
abiding by AmeriCorps prohibited activities and ensuring that volunteers abide by prohibited activities,
which can be found in your member contract and your FoodCorps Service Member Manual. See
www.americorps.gov for more information about AmeriCorps service.

All FoodCorps service members must pass a three-part background check to be eligible for service,
including clearing the National Sex Offender Public Registry, state background checks in your state of
service and residence at time of application, and an FBI criminal history check (fingerprint-based).
This position includes access to vulnerable populations (individuals with disabilities, senior citizens,
and/or youth). To successfully perform their duties, service members must be able to stand for
extended periods of time to teach; supervise groups of children in- and outdoors; perform manual
labor in the school garden, including digging, getting up and down, lifting garden equipment; aid
children in the garden; coordinate and organize meetings; recruit and manage volunteers; and travel
to and from National Orientation and Gatherings as required.

Your position is unique to AmeriCorps and does not displace organization staff or volunteers.
FoodCorps is an equal opportunity organization and we respect diversity. FoodCorps does not
discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender
identity, gender expression, national origin, alienage or citizenship, disability, marital status, military or
veteran status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local laws,
regulations or ordinances.

FoodCorps provides reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees as required by law.
Applicants with disabilities may request a reasonable accommodation at any point in the employment
process.

All service positions at FoodCorps are at-will. Service positions, though designed to last for one year,
are not guaranteed for a set period of time. Both service members and FoodCorps have the right to
terminate the position at any time. FoodCorps reserves the right to conduct employment, education,
and background checks upon which your position may be contingent.

Apply Today!
We are accepting applications until March 13th! To apply, please submit an application on our website
https://foodcorps.org/apply/. For questions, please contact the MA Program Coordinator, Ren
Workman, at ren.workman@foodcorps.org.

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