The Food Trust: Project Coordinator

Posted by on June 16, 2006

The Food Trust: "Ensuring that everyone has access to affordable, nutritious food."

POSITION DESCRIPTION

TITLE: Project Coordinator, The Food Trust <a href="http://www.TheFoodTrust.org"> http://www.TheFoodTrust.org</a>
LOCATION: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

THE ORGANIZATION
The Food Trust’s mission is to ensure that everyone has access to affordable, nutritious food. Founded in 1992, the Trust works to improve the health of children and adults, promote good nutrition, increase access to nutritious foods, and advocate for better public policy. This dynamic, forward-thinking agency has grown dramatically in each year of its existence.

Now in its second decade, with a 2006 budget of $3.4 million and 40 employees, The Food Trust is a nationally recognized organization that focuses on providing comprehensive solutions to combat the problems of poor food access and malnutrition. The Food Trust incorporates a strong emphasis on research and evaluation in all of its programs and initiatives to improve the heath of individuals and communities.

The Food Trust works to achieve its mission through the following initiatives:

Community-based initiatives:
-Our Farmer?s Market Program provides nutrition education through 19 weekly open-air farmers? markets located in predominantly lower income neighborhoods in the Southeastern Pennsylvania region.
-The Supermarket Campaign and Fresh Food Financing Initiative spur the development of supermarkets and grocery stores in underserved urban and rural communities throughout Pennsylvania through financial and technical assistance.
-The Corner Store Campaign uses partnerships among schools, corner store owners, and the food industry to increase the availability of healthy snacks and encourage children to choose healthier snacks in corner stores.

School-based initiatives:
-The School Market Program supports student-owned and operated food stands at schools in Philadelphia, Norristown, Pittsburgh and Reading school districts.
-The Comprehensive School Nutrition Policy strives to change the school nutrition environment and has been responsible for implementing the nation?s strongest healthy beverage policy in the Philadelphia School District.
-The Kindergarten Initiative helps children and their parents develop lifelong eating habits based on healthy diets and local food.

Public policy initiatives are designed to make significant changes at the state and federal levels in policies affecting the quality and availability of food. Public policy initiatives include efforts to use food retail as a strategic component of economic development, building infrastructure for smaller farms to participate in the established food distribution system, and advancing policies to make the food environment in schools healthier.

The Food Trust partners with sister organizations, private industry, and government to advocate for and implement change in the region?s food system. In collaboration with Greensgrow, The Food Trust convenes the Farmers? Market Alliance, an affiliation of diverse organizations in Pennsylvania, working together to develop strategies to increase political and economic support for farmers? markets and to leverage public policy changes that will improve the viability of Pennsylvania farms. The Food Trust has worked with SHARE to provide the Farm Fresh Package (a low cost package of fresh fruits and vegetables) to individuals in the region.

Primary funding for the Trust?s initiatives is through the PA Nutrition Education Program, part of the USDA?s Food Stamp Program. Additional funding includes federal and state agencies, national, regional and local foundations, corporate and individual donors.

THE POSITION
In 2001, The Food Trust issued a special report entitled "The Need for More Supermarkets in Philadelphia", as part of an initiative to address the uneven distribution of fresh food in Philadelphia?s neighborhoods. The report concluded that low income areas of Philadelphia have fewer supermarkets and higher rates of diet-related disease. The Health and Human Services Committee of Philadelphia?s City Council held public hearings on supermarket access in 2002. Following the hearings, City Council asked The Food Trust to convene the Food Marketing Task Force to educate the public, policy makers, and business leaders about the need for more supermarkets, and to develop public policy recommendations intended to reverse the documented diet and health problems.

In response to the leadership of the Food Marketing Task Force, the Pennsylvania legislature enacted a nationally-significant economic stimulus package containing provisions supporting the development of supermarkets in underserved communities throughout Pennsylvania. Promoted by Governor Rendell and an alliance of food and farming interests, this legislation positions Pennsylvania as a national leader in developing supermarkets in underserved communities and promoting the sale of Pennsylvania farm products at farmers’ markets. The $80 million Fresh Food Financing Initiative (FFFI) works to improve access to nutritious foods for all Pennsylvanians, stimulate the development of community-based food retail enterprises, and generate additional markets for Pennsylvania?s farmers. The FFFI is administered jointly by The Food Trust with the Reinvestment Fund and the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition.

The Project Coordinator will play a critical role in developing new supermarkets through the Fresh Food Financing Initiative. This position will work with supermarkets, community organizations, city and state agencies, political leaders and financial intermediaries.

KEY OBJECTIVES FOR THE POSITION
-Serve as the point of contact for supermarket development inquiries.
-Interface with policymakers at the state and local levels to build support for supermarket development.
-Conduct market analysis of supermarket proposals to determine if:
the project is located, or will be located, in a rural or urban underserved area; and,
the local market will support such development.
-Assess prospective developer and operator capabilities.
-Provide technical assistance to developers and operators on how to access state and federal programs.
-Provide direction and technical assistance to developers and operators on how to access private capital.
-Track supermarket development from point of contact to project completion.
-Track use of state and federal programs related to supermarket development.
-Provide written reports on the above activities.
-Conduct research on food retail trends.

KEY ATTRIBUTES
-Excellent administrative skills and the ability to establish clearly defined accountability systems designed to promote a results oriented approach to program administration.
-At least 2 years of city planning, real estate development or related experience.
-Strong written and verbal communication skills.
-A professional with a style that promotes collaboration and communication.
-Adept at forging strong relationships with key people inside and outside the agency.
-Strong public speaking skills.
-An advanced degree would be desirable.
-Supervisory experience desirable.
-Spanish or Korean language skills desirable.

The ideal candidate will have the following personal characteristics: unquestioned integrity; personal stature; a passion for excellence; a high energy level; excellent listening skills; persuasive communications skills; an entrepreneurial spirit; a sense of humor; an open mind; a candid manner; and a commitment to The Trust?s mission.

E-mail your r?sum? and cover letter to coordinator@thefoodtrust.org or fax to 215-568-0882. Please reference ?Supermarket Campaign Project Coordinator? in the subject line. People of color strongly encouraged to apply.