Food Access Specialist

Food Access Specialist

The Food Access Specialist advances community health through improved access to and distribution of healthy foods as a means of preventing and addressing chronic disease. This position supports policy, systems, and environmental changes that increase availability of nutritious foods, reduce access barriers, strengthen local food systems, and enhance the utilization of food assistance benefits such as WIC and SNAP. The Specialist works closely with community members, local organizations, food retailers, farmers, and regional partners to build a more fair, sustainable, and health-supportive food environment, with a special focus on youth-centered initiatives.

Food Access: Support project management activities for the following:

• Conduct community-level assessments to identify transportation, logistical, or policy barriers to accessing healthy food retailers and markets;
• Support development and adoption of zoning, land use, and policy changes that promote local agricultural markets, healthy food retailers, farmers' markets, community gardens, urban agriculture, and other food access resources in underserved communities; and
• Other applicable food system resilience planning activities to create a more resilient, localized Adams County food system.

• Analyze nutrition assistance program data to identify trends; gaps; and underutilized benefits, foods, and eligible stores; and build partnerships to increase awareness, enrollment, and utilization of nutrition assistance benefits.
• Work with program staff, partners, and retailers to strengthen program delivery and increase acceptance and utilization where benefits are currently underused.
• Recommend program adjustments, outreach strategies, or community partnerships to improve service access and effectiveness.
• Partner with statewide organizations to increase Double Up Food Bucks providers in Adams County, provide education and awareness on SNAP, WIC, and Double Up Food Bucks vending to retailers, corner stores, farmers, and farm stands across the county.

• Support the facilitation of the Adams County Food System Coalition, providing community engagement, administrative, and logistics support.
• Support implementation of work groups, policies, and initiatives prioritized by Adams County Food System Coalition.
• Increase youth engagement in Adams County Food Systems Coalition and other avenues with food resiliency and distribution planning; work closely with the Adams County Youth Engagement team to identify strategies to support youth food access.
• Conduct coalition outreach to unrepresented sectors, such as retailers, to promote awareness of the state of Adams County food access and identify opportunities to strengthen the food system.

• Assist in actualizing community-initiated projects and efforts to strengthen local and regional food distribution and procurement systems to improve availability of healthy foods.
• Support Farm-to-Institution, and Farm-to-Community programs connecting local growers with schools, childcare centers, hospitals, and community organizations.
• Conduct emergency food response activities, including coordinating logistics for food access programs, convening emergency food response partners, and assessing, documenting, and communicating community and partner needs.

• Build and maintain strong community partnerships to advance food access and distribution initiatives.
• Assist with project planning, implementation, evaluation, and reporting.
• Facilitate and/or participate in community meetings, coalitions, and outreach events.
• Prepare written materials including assessments, reports, presentations, agendas, and educational resources.
• Support grant activities as assigned, including data collection and documentation.

• Knowledge in social determinants of health, their impact upon health, and strategies to address them within community settings.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and project coordination skills.
• Ability to analyze data, interpret findings, and develop actionable recommendations.
• Knowledge of techniques and best practices related to community engagement, coalition building, and developing community partnerships.
• Must be proficient in use of online meeting platforms and Microsoft Office tools including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.