Farm to Early Care and Education – Food Systems Internship

For summer 2024, we are looking for student interns interested in agriculture and local food purchasing and promotion, to work with the child care community in six locations across the state. Interns will support the testing, implementation, and evaluation of the Farm to Early Care and Education local food pathways and support local food programming in the centers. Examples of food systems intern projects include:

  • Farmer outreach
  • Development and implementation of ECE food service requirements and local food procurement practices
  • Local food distribution routes and logistics
  • Local food purchasing data collection
  • Recipe and cost analysis for child care meals
  • Creation and/or management of online order systems
  • Customer outreach and relationship building with child care programs and local community partnerships
  • Help child care programs reach their goals in local food purchasing, garden building and cooking activities with children
  • Work with NC Cooperative Extension to provide technical assistance to child care programs
  • Social media and website management
  • Development of policy around ECE food procurement
  • Outreach to families

Interns will be paid $15/hr for 40hrs/wk for 10 weeks (May 20 – July 26, 2024).

Internship Dates: May 20 – July 26, 2024*

*Possibility of extending past July 26th, pending funding and project needs. Decisions will be made on an individual basis.

Relevant Skills

  • Preferred experience/study in agriculture, food systems, ag business, or economics
  • Experience or knowledge of child care or educational systems in NC
  • Familiarity and comfort around young children
  • Familiarity or willingness to learn about online sales platforms
  • Experience with social media including basic analytics
  • Good communication skills
  • Preference given to students who live or attend school in communities in close proximity to the host organization of their choice

Requirements for Interns

  • Must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate, graduate, or professional degree program at any North Carolina university, college, or community college, or have graduated within 6 months of the start of the internship
  • Enthusiasm for local foods and a respect for farmers and producers from diverse rural and urban communities
  • Must attend an orientation on May 20, 2024
  • Must hold a drivers license and have access to transportation to the host site
  • Must be able to pass a drug screening and background check

Program Components

Activities will be organized into five main program elements including:

  1. Introductory “Diverse Communities and Agriculture across NC” Tours: Two 2-day farm tours and other day trips visiting various agroecosystems and communities throughout NC. These tours are important for students to understand the unique agricultural challenges facing diverse producers and communities across NC and the role of cooperative extension.
  2. Mentorship and hands-on job training: Each student will be matched with a host site (e.g., Partnership for Children office) and mentor. Mentors will oversee the student on a day-to-day basis, as well as mentor the student in a specific summer project.
  3. Professional skills development and agriculture career exploration: All students will participate in professional development activities throughout the summer. These professional development activities will likely include: leadership training, racial equity, understanding agriculture career pathways, and networking opportunities.
  4. Professional presentation opportunity: Students will be required to give a professional presentation of their summer project and experiences at the conclusion of the internship.

Participation in cohort of summer food systems interns: The cohort of food systems interns will participate in weekly meetings with each other and CEFS Farm to ECE program managers to share, ask questions, and learn from each other as they build local food and ECE connections.

For more information, please contact Caroline Hundley at cmstover@ncsu.edu

Application deadline is February 16, 2024. We accept applications until midnight.

Apply here: https://jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/194591

 

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