Food Recovery Fellow

Project summary

The California Climate Action Corps (CCAC) is part of a statewide initiative to address and mitigate the effects of climate change. CCAC matches Fellows with organizations to mobilize community members to take direct climate action through education, volunteer mobilization, and assessment focused on urban greening, organic waste diversion and edible food recovery, and wildfire resiliency. This is a climate-focused, workforce development program for emerging climate and environmental leaders.

Opportunity description

The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County is seeking 2 dynamic Food Recovery Fellows to lead our Backyard Bounty (BYB) and Grocery Rescue programs. This role involves expanding gleaning efforts and volunteer engagement in South County, alongside spearheading surplus food recovery from grocery stores to redistribute to underserved communities county-wide. You - ll play a crucial role in expanding the reach of our programs through volunteer recruitment, training, and community education efforts - providing community educational resource, aiming to raise awareness and increase food distribution. Additionally, Fellows will contribute to launching a composting initiative to further reduce organic waste and methane gas in landfills. Join us in our mission to combat food waste, promote healthy communities, and increase environmental sustainability in Santa Barbara County. Duties include, but are not limited to: Recruit and train volunteers for BYB and Grocery Rescue initiatives to foster community engagement and streamline food recovery efforts Develop training programs for Lead Grocery Rescue Volunteers and to facilitate the transition to a fully volunteer-run BYB initiative Implement process improvements to expand grocery rescue efforts to include freezer items, optimize software for managing new inventory, and identify gleaning properties to increase annual food rescue capacity to over 200,000 lbs Craft engaging content, education materials, and activities for outreach events and social media, implementing marketing strategies to raise awareness and expand program reach to attract new partners and donors, ultimately increasing food redistribution and environmental impact Educate community on backyard gleaning and Foodbank donation, providing sustainable garden and orchard maintenance guidance to BYB donors

Benefits

• $33,600 stipend
• $10,000 education award
• 340 hours of professional development
• Minimum essential healthcare
• Loan forbearance
• Food and childcare assistance (for those eligible)