Job Opportunity // VISTA Program with CT Food Justice

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS – VISTA PROGRAM FOCUSED ON FOOD JUSTICE & YOUTH LEADERSHIP! CT Food Justice Youth Corps

University of Connecticut Extension, in partnership with some of the most effective and innovative nonprofit organizations in low-income communities in Connecticut, is launching a three year CT Food Justice Youth Corps
(CT-FJYC) with five VISTA members in 2013-2014. This project is designed to strengthen programming and improve coordination among similar youth leadership programs seeking to empower youth (age 13-19) to create positive change in their food environment and improve access to healthy food. Project partners are: CitySeed/New Haven Food Policy Council, FRESH New London, Hartford Food System, North End Action Team in Middletown, and Windham Regional Community Council/UConn Extension in Vernon.

[NOTE TO APPLICANTS, PLEASE SPECIFY WHICH PROJECT PARTNER(S) YOU ARE WILLING TO CONSIDER FOR PLACEMENT]

Member Duties : VISTA members will be placed in community-based nonprofits that are currently providing or building youth leadership programs with an emphasis on food justice. Each VISTA member will work to enhance existing youth leadership programming in five core areas: Dialogue – fostering conversations about food among youth in community; Assessment – understanding the current food environment, evaluating and measuring it, and helping youth to develop assessment skills about their community; Prioritization – setting an agenda for food system change based on dialogue and assessment; Action – converting vision and priorities into action; and Leading – influencing community youth by example. As a statewide program, the VISTA members will also work together as a team to share best practices in youth organizing and training among project partners. A capstone activity for VISTA members will be working together to coordinate a statewide Youth Leadership Convening in spring 2014.

VISTA member duties will vary to some extent depending on project partner.

Application Deadline – 5/24/13
Program Start/End:  08/05/2013 – 08/08/2014 Application Form:
https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=49905&fromSearch=true

Please contact Project Partners for more details:

CitySeed/New Haven Food Policy Council
Nicole Berube <nicole@cityseed.org> and Tagan Engel <tagan.engel@gmail.com>

FRESH New London
Arthur Lerner <freshnewlondon@hotmail.com>

Hartford Food System
Martha Page <mpage@hartfordfood.org>

North End Action Team in Middletown
Izzi Greenberg <izzi@neatmiddletown.org> and Bobbye Knoll <bobbye@neatmiddletown.org>

Windham Regional Community Council/UConn Extension in Vernon Sally Milius <sally.milius@wrccinc.org>

Learn more about VISTA:
http://www.americorps.gov/for_individuals/choose/vista.asp

General contact about this call for applications:
Jiff Martin
Sustainable Food Systems
UConn Cooperative Extension
24 Hyde Avenue
Vernon, CT 06066
860-870-6932 office
860-296-1380 cell
jiff.martin@uconn.edu