Community Food Systems Intern
Urban and Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI)
The Urban & Environmental Policy Institute has been involved in local and nation-wide food access and food justice initiatives for nearly 20 years. Many of our programs focus on healthy food access and how to create more just, equitable, and sustainable local food systems.
In the spring semester, UEPI will hire multiple interns to assist with our community food systems programs. These internships will provide valuable experience in field research, health education, community organizing, and program coordination and administration. The selected interns will be valued members of the food program team, and will play a critical role in getting two exciting food projects off the ground, while gaining a hands-on understanding of the food and education landscape in Los Angeles.
Depending on students’ skills and interests, responsibilities for this position will include some or all of the following:
●Research: assist in field research at partnering farmers’ markets and schools including conducting and coding interviews and focus groups with market vendors, school parents and staff, and community partners. Students may also conduct background research including reviewing related case studies, academic papers, and writing research briefs and reports.
●Health Education: assist with community nutrition education workshops and food demonstrations conducted at local public schools and farmers’ markets. Students may have the opportunity to teach portions of workshops themselves, and will also assist with workshop logistics and promotion.
●Community Organizing: assist in facilitating meetings and planning sessions to mobilize parents and community members to implement school gardens, cafeteria improvements, and create inclusive community spaces at partner schools and farmers’ markets
●Program Coordination: assist with project administration including record keeping, goal tracking, documentation, organizing and cataloguing program materials, note-taking at meetings, etc.
Preferred Qualifications:
●Spanish language skills, bilingual Spanish-English highly preferred!
●Interest and experience in food access, local food systems, public health, education, and/or social justice
●Ability to work independently and in a team, as well as to take initiative, sometimes with minimal direction. This will be a dynamic internship that will evolve as the programs unfold.
●Access to a car to attend sites, and/or willingness to travel off-site by public transit, zipcar or bike
●UEP majors, Public Health minors, and FEAST members are especially encouraged to apply
See the following page to learn more about the food programs that these internships will be a part of!
Farm to School and Wellness
UEPI has been at the forefront of Farm to School and other school-based health initiatives for nearly 20 years. UEPI directed the formation of some of the first Farm to School programs in the country, and piloted and pioneered Farm to Preschool: the first nationally-recognized preschool curriculum and program model to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables among children under 5. UEPI was one of the leading agencies in the 2002 Los Angeles Unified School District “soda ban,” and since then has organized LAUSD students and parents in support of the current School Wellness Policy and around the district’s commitment to the Los Angeles Food Policy Council’s Good Food Procurement Pledge. Over the next three years, UEPI will implement a school-based healthy eating and local food promotion program that includes: Direct nutrition education; Parent organizing around school wellness issues including school gardens and cafeterias; Training teachers and administrators on Farm to School curriculum; and bringing together organizations and agencies working on Farm to School program across the City to promote local purchasing. Overall, this project will establish better practices and systems for healthy eating and local food systems at Los Angeles schools and child care settings.
Market Together: Creating Inclusive Farmers Market
Los Angeles is home to many thriving farmers’ markets, providing a valuable market opportunity for local farmers, and providing Los Angeles residents with fresh, diverse, and sustainably grown fruits and vegetables. Markets in lower-income neighborhoods struggle to survive, however, because there is a disconnect between the needs of low-income consumers and the constraints faced by local and regional farmers. Despite the potential for farmers’ markets to increase healthy food access, farmers’ markets continue to be seen as an amenity that caters to affluent customers--a trend that is exacerbated by the rapid gentrification of LA’s traditionally working class neighborhoods.
The Market Together project seeks to close the gap between consumer and farmer needs and create a model for how farmers’ markets can become thriving, accessible spaces that serve all community members. Market Together will build the capacity of farmers’ markets to cater specifically to low-income and food-assistance-eligible communities through an integrated co-marketing approach involving farmers, consumers, local businesses, and community service providers (such as WIC stores, education centers, child care centers, and schools). The project will involve comprehensive research at Northeast LA farmers’ markets (Highland Park, Lincoln Heights, Atwater Village) as well as other LA markets facing gentrification pressures and struggling to maintain both vendors and customers. The project will also involve a pilot co-marketing strategy and training program for markets across the City. The project will ultimately increase access to fresh produce in low-income and low-food access communities while providing an enhanced market opportunity for regional farmers.
Start Date: 1/23/2017 (or when available)
End Date: May 6, 2017
Hours Per Week: 5-10
Work Schedule: TBA
Pay Rate: $10.75 hr
To apply please send a cover letter and resume to: Megan Bomba