Education Specialist, Food Growing - Washington, United States - Capital Area Food Bank

Capital Area Food Bank

Verified Company

Washington, United States

3 weeks ago

Posted by:

Mark Lane

beBee recruiter

Description

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
It is an exciting time at the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) as we continue to undertake our mission. We know that creating long-term solutions to food security requires more than meals. It requires education, training, and collaboration.

We are seeking people with strong ideas and a passion to come together to address the complex interrelated issues of food security, poverty, and equity.

We are expanding in multiple ways:

providing food for today and addressing the root causes of hunger by partnering with organizations that provide critical services like job training programs, health care and education.

Food has the power to transform lives and move everyone forward. Find out how on our website at Let us discuss how food is at the center of everyone's healthy life

DESCRIPTION

The Food Growing Education Specialist maintains, executes, and develops educational programming for the CAFB's food growing spaces, including its Urban Demonstration Garden.

The Urban Demonstration Garden is an on-site, half-acre, hands-on educational space that helps build knowledge around wellness, nutrition, and food growing for the food bank's partners, clients, and the general public.

The garden spaces (indoor and outdoor) and Urban Food Studio are used in tandem to show how to grow food in an urban setting, highlighting low-cost gardening techniques.

The Food Growing Education Specialist is responsible for managing all food-growing activities, including the gardening education curriculum, garden maintenance and planning, the garden volunteer program, and any associated grants.

The Specialist serves as the primary organizational representative for food growing internally and externally but has opportunities to contribute more broadly to the food bank as a member of the Nutrition Education Department.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Manage and execute all garden maintenance operations of CAFB's garden spaces (60%):
Grow, harvest, distribute fresh produce from the garden through food growing, nutrition education, and CAFB programming
Responsible for all daytoday and seasonal garden and outdoor kitchen operations, planning and schedules

- mulching, soil amendments, seed starting, planting crop rotation, weeding, etc.

Responsible for all garden expenses and budget tracking, including funding for partner support and utilizing grants
Manage food growing and nutrition education interns for garden assistance and program support
Implement food waste diversion practices and sustainable gardening, practicing waste reduction through composting and educational programming
Direct individual volunteers and volunteer groups efficiently for operational support; lead multiple shifts of volunteers weekly during growing season (April-Nov)
Identify and organize daytoday and seasonal and longterm volunteer opportunities
Coordination across CAFB to host staff, volunteers, students, donors, partners, and other groups of interest in garden and outdoor kitchen space
Develop and implement all food growing educational programming and resource support to grow food in an urban setting and expand garden opportunities (40%)
Direct and implement all nutritionbased garden education & food preparation field trips for students, K12 and college level visits
Design and provide educational workshops, open to public & targeted for specific groups such a food pantry partners, at CAFB, at partner sites upon request for services, inperson and virtually
Program evaluation, tracking, reporting, and research on best practices for nutritionbased garden education in line with CAFB mission
Support for partner gardens: consultation visits, education, coordination and distribution of resources such as seeds, seed packets, nutrition education and garden education
Identify and support new garden programming opportunities for CAFB, including at the new NOVA site, write project estimates and proposals
Collaborate across departments to provide and expand opportunities for garden engagement in line with broader CAFB mission: Volunteers, Operations, CLC, Marketing, Fundraising Development, NOVA, and more
Initiate and strengthen professional, beneficial relationships with local gardens, nonprofits, clubs, agricultural organizations, schools, contractors and vendors, donors, partner organizations, and groups of interest
Participate in local garden and nutrition events on and off site, presenting internally and externally to different groups of interest
Assist with performance data review (financial, grant, and activity reports) to monitor and measure productivity, goal progress, and activity levels
Data entry (when necessary)
Other duties as assigned

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Associate's degree in food growing, agriculture or related field.
Minimum of three years' experience growing organic fruits and vegetables or twoyear professional experience managing a large urban