FOODCORPS FASLP: DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCHOOL NUTRITION LEADERS

Nationally, FoodCorps recruits, trains, and places AmeriCorps service members in schools and districts where they connect kids to healthy food. We aim to build upon the success of our existing, proven service program by implementing a new service pathway focused on school nutrition and developing the next generation of school nutrition leaders. This is a one-year project serving communities in California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Jersey focused on pilot implementation and refinement of a new service pathway designed to deliver high impact service activities that increase access to food education and nourishing meals in school; development of multi-year partnership plans to chart the course for sustained impact; and investment in the leadership of emerging leaders through a new suite of tailored school nutrition focused training, resources, and support. The ultimate impact we seek is to support the local visions of our partner districts to institutionalize food education and increase success of school meal programs, increase access to nourishing meals that are culturally relevant, locally sourced, and/or scratch-cooked, and develop the next generation of school nutrition leaders that the field needs. Our proposed project aligns with the goals of the FASLP as it supports the nutritional health of children by increasing access to school meals and food education, enhances the quality of school meals, increases producer engagement, and creates new service opportunities for the next generation of school nutrition leaders.Goal 1: Implement New School Nutrition Focused Training, Resources, and Service ActivitiesWe will recruit and place 20-25 AmeriCorps members, and train, resource, and support them to implement service activities that support district school meal quality and food education goals. Their activities will focus on changing what shows up on the tray for students and building culturally responsive meal programs.Goal 2: Develop Goal Oriented Multi-Year Partnership Plans with School Nutrition Site PartnersWe will collaborate to develop partnership plans that chart the course for year-by-year activities and impact to advance the local visions of our school nutrition site partners, in alignment with FoodCorps' vision for change.Goal 3: Build a Pipeline of Future School Nutrition LeadersWe will provide robust training and resources oriented around foundational school nutrition topics to provide members with a specialized service experience that will prepare them with the foundational knowledge and skills to become leaders in the school nutrition field.