Position Description

The Community Garden Outreach Coordinator will increase capacity for the St. Vincent de Paul Urban Farm program and the organization through enhancing community engagement, education, and food security. This will be accomplished through the development of a healthy, sustainable, and impactful St. Vincent De Paul Community Garden at the Rob and Melani Walton Urban Farm and the creation of a post-harvest distribution system for its families that participate in the organization’s Family Evening Meal. The Community Garden Outreach Coordinator will recruit and educate up to nine families, currently attending the St. Vincent De Paul Family Evening Meal because of food insecurity, to grow their own produce on an irrigated, 80-foot garden row and create a pipeline for families to volunteer on the Rob and Melani Walton farm. This will serve to expand the impact that the Urban Farm program has on vulnerable populations throughout the Phoenix area by connecting them directly to where their food is grown, building a sense of community, and ultimately providing a space to alleviate food insecurity and improve autonomy. To find out more about serving with AmeriCorps VISTA, please visit the following webpage:

https://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/americorps-programs/americorps-vista/life-vista-member

Responsibilities

• Recruit up to nine families participating in Family Evening Meal to join the Community Garden
• Set rules and expectations of the space and educate participants on seasonal vegetables and succession planting to determine what the families are interested in growing
• Educate, coach, and empower participating families in harvesting, planting, integrated pest management, seeding, and weeding techniques to ensure maximum produce yields
• Develop meaningful relationships with participants and create powerful connection within the group to enhance their experience and to encourage continued involvement in the space and the community
• Create surveys and distribute to families before and after the season to understand necessary improvements
• Form an efficient system for recording produce weights that is accessible to all participants
• At end of term, create a report with identified shortfalls and suggested solutions to mitigate them
• Create efficient and impactful distribution processes of the Rob and Melani Walton Urban Farm produce to families participating in Family Evening Meal
• Through distribution, recruit families to volunteer at the Rob and Melani Walton farm to enhance connection to the produce they receive and their community
• Identify areas of improvement within the objective and work with supervisor to develop approaches to better increase impact
• Participate in a monthly book club with farm staff on various sustainable agriculture subjects, create report identifying realistic practices to incorporate, and share information learned with community garden participants

Key Skills, Knowledge, Abilities, & Qualifications

• Must have working knowledge of agricultural systems
• A degree, certificate, or hands-on experience working in a garden or farm space
• Must speak Spanish fluently
• Self-starter, excellent multitasker and communicator, flexible, coachable, leadership skills
• Able to work cohesively with backgrounds, genders, personality types, ages, and cultures that are different than your own
• Able to work in extreme temperatures and weather
• Able to lift 40 pounds

Benefits for VISTA Members

• Living stipend of $17,600 to cover the basic costs of living (find out more at nationalservice.gov)
• Choice of Education Award or End of Service Stipend upon successful completion of service
• Health coverage at no-cost
• Relocation allowance
• Student loan forbearance and deferment
• 10 personal and 10 sick days
• Childcare assistance if eligible
• One year of non-competitive eligibility for federal government positions upon completion of service
• Professional development training

AmeriCorps Eligibility Requirements

• Must be 18 years of age
• US citizen, national, or legal resident
• Successfully complete a criminal background check
• Valid driver’s license

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $17,600.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Relocation assistance
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

Application Question(s):

• Please describe why you would like to serve with AmeriCorps VISTA.

Work Location: One location

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