Food Security Intern

The mission of the IRC is to help people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. The IRC’s New Roots program has developed services and infrastructure aimed at engaging low-income families in urban agriculture, nutrition education, and healthy food access navigation. New Roots builds on the agricultural experience of many new refugee and immigrant families by providing access to land, materials, and education for program participants to grow healthy food. New Roots Program Services include: Increasing Food Access, Fostering Income Generation, Improving Nutrition, Building Community, Developing Leadership and Skills.

The Food Security Intern will be responsible for engaging with participants in the Refugee Senior program by facilitating at least three activities per month, including coordinating monthly fresh produce delivery and distribution of emergency hygiene supplies (e.g. masks, sanitizer, etc.) as requested by participants. All activities will be held virtually and may include Zoom field trips, cooking workshops, movie viewings, or bringing on guest speakers. The Intern will also provide general support for other New Roots program areas, including but not limited to Community Gardens, Emergency Food Pantry, other food distribution projects as they arise, and administrative tasks. This is a great position for someone who is creative, caring, and passionate about community building, food justice, and the importance of food and culture.\

Time Commitment: 10-15 hours/week during IRC office hours (M-F, 9am-5pm). Flexible schedule with attendance to weekly team meetings. Position begins at the April 1st, 2021 with commitment of 6 months.

Essential Position Functions:

·Schedule and facilitate a variety of virtual activities to engage program participants with varying English proficiency levels

·Coordinate monthly fresh produce delivery to client homes

·Call program participants for enrollment, surveys or program updates as needed

·Record all participant activity in IRC’s client database, and report any recurring concerns from clients to Program Staff

·Work with interpreters to convey information in client’s language (training provided)

·Help with data-entry projects as requested

·Recommend and contribute to social media and blog post content, highlighting program activities