FoodCorps Now! Apply!

Want to be of service?   Improve the health and resilience of our local food system by engaging schools and students?  
Then AmeriCorps' new FoodCorps is for you!


The Gardens Project of NCO was chosen as one of ten sites in California to host a Food Corps Member.   

Applications are due by March 31st.
To find out more information about the FoodCorps program and submit your application, please visit http://foodcorps.org/.

Service Member Benefits:

* A $15,000 living allowance
* $5,550 AmeriCorps Segal Education Award: Upon successful competition of a 1,700 hour term of service, service members will receive this monetary award which can be used to pay for education at qualified institutions of higher education, educational training, and to re-pay qualified student loans.
* Health insurance: FoodCorps will provide basic health, vision and dental coverage.
* SNAP eligibility (dependent on total income)
* Student loan forbearance (if eligible)
* Partial childcare reimbursements (if eligible)

What Service Members Will Do: 

NUTRITION EDUCATION. FoodCorps members will provide food and nutrition education in participating classrooms, using proven curricula to align nutrition education with science, math, and language standards while teaching students about the vital role that nutrition plays in their overall health and their academic success.

ENGAGEMENT. All of the focus schools have existing school gardens that are currently maintained by the GENE Garden Coordinators. With Network for a Healthy California funding for these positions scheduled to be reduced and/or redirected, FoodCorps members will play a vital role in working with school administration, parent-teacher organizations, local businesses and service clubs as sponsors, and the community at large to organize for continued maintenance of the gardens. FoodCorps members will work to maintain and expand these gardens and to develop systems to ensure that students have hands-on garden time and that garden produce is shared with students through taste testing, cafeteria “garden tables,” and/or sampling in the cafeteria.

ACCESS. FoodCorps members working with NCO will have opportunities to develop, test, and refine creative strategies to increase student access to healthy local produce. FoodCorps members will be introduced to the school staff by the Farm2Fork Coordinator, who has been working for the past two years to build relationships with food service staff and local food producers, make connections between them, and strengthen school capacity to use fresh local produce by reinforcing their infrastructure and skills.

In addition to working directly in local schools, FoodCorps members joining NCO will have the opportunity to participate in the “big picture” development of the community’s food security system, building on NCO’s current efforts to stimulate local food production and well-developed relationships with community partners.

Contact the Gardens Project if you have additional questions about this local opportunity.