The Legacy Foundation is partnering with the NWI Food Council, City of Gary Department of Environmental Affairs/Gary Food Council and Purdue University Cooperative Extension to build a more cohesive local food system and address food insecurity in northern Lake County.
We are currently looking to fill a program coordinator position in support of the Lake County Eats Local program, an United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant-funded project. The program was created with the intent to increase access to and consumption of locally produced food; provide training, outreach and technical assistance to area producers and consumers; develop new market opportunities for existing and new small farmers; develop and implement an urban communication plan in order to increase awareness of local farming efforts; and increase the number of local farmers markets and farm stands accepting Federal nutrition assistance.
The Program Coordinator (PC) will work under the supervision of the South Shore Neighborhood Development Corporation Director and the NWI Food Council President. The PC will be responsible for overseeing all market operations as well as directly managing the markets and mobile markets. The position is funded by the grant and is a part-time position of 20 hours/week until the summer of 2021.
Duties and responsibilities of the PC include:
- Develop plans for the launch and capacity building for all markets
- Serve as the primary liaison between markets and with consumers and producers
- Manage markets including vendor enrollment and eligibility, set-up and breakdown, marketing, signage, information packet and distribution and all other market activities as needed
- Assist farmers in establishing SNAP eligibility and enrollment in other training programs
- Oversee website upgrades and updates
- Develop, schedule and host marketing events
- Ability to travel to locations for programmatic purposes
Required education and experience include:
- Three years of related work experience required
- Two years of farmers market or closely related small business management experience working directly with the public and with diverse communities
- Proven ability to work independently, in a team, and exercise good judgment in a variety of environments and situations
- Active Indiana driver's license, reliable vehicle and clean driving record required
- Strong organizational and time-management skills.
For the full list of responsibilities and requirements, visit the Legacy Foundation careers page.
Email an updated resume, cover letter, requested hourly rate of pay and a list of three professional references to brehman@legacyfdn.org. The deadline for applications is November 1, 2018 at 5 p.m. CST.