VISTA Assignment Objectives and Member Activities:
Goal of the Overall VISTA Project: The Greater Lawrence Community Action Council’s (GLCAC) mission is to create opportunities by collaborating with our community and empowering individuals to achieve their goals. The VISTA project aligns with the Healthy Futures Obesity and Food focus area. The VISTA project will address poverty by increasing GLCAC's capacity to support food insecure populations, and expects to benefit 1,275 food-insecure beneficiaries. Three (3) VISTA members (one per year) will contribute to the goals of the project by performing activities such as researching, developing, and piloting a more equitable, and inclusive food access models.

Objective of the Assignment By the end of Year 1, the Greater Lawrence Community Action Council and five (5) partner organizations will increase their capacity to support food-insecure populations in the Greater Lawrence region. Member Activity (03/11/2024 - 08/24/2024): The VISTA will attend the Food Security Advisory Committee meetings. Member Activity (03/11/2024 - 08/24/2024): VISTA will meet with community partners and provide a summary of food support systems that connect our food pantry participants to services. Member Activity (03/11/2024 - 08/24/2024): The VISTA will research by comparing and contrasting current food pantry models.

Member Activity (03/11/2024 - 08/24/2024): The VISTA will research and identify all food resources and food assistance models available to our population seeking food assistance. Objective of the Assignment Assess the needs of our populations seeking food. Member Activity (03/11/2024 - 08/24/2024): The Vista will create and disseminate a survey and have informal conversations with our food pantry participants, to understand how much food and what cultural foods are desired by our participants, demographics and accessibility of food for our participants, including days and times of the week that participants need to access food, etc.

Member Activity (03/11/2024 - 08/24/2024): The VISTA will engage with and recruit participants to participate in a Food Security Advisory Committee through these informal and formal conversations with our food pantry participants. Objective of the Assignment Identify areas of capacity building to support food insecure populations by researching potential, sustainable Food Security food resources. Member Activity (03/11/2024 - 08/24/2024): Identify internal opportunities for building food security programs. Member Activity (03/11/2024 - 08/24/2024): Identify opportunities for an external referral system for food access. Member Activity (03/11/2024 - 08/24/2024): Develop an evaluation tool for food security of current populations seeking services at GLCAC.

Member Activity (03/11/2024 - 08/24/2024): The VISTA will assess the need for services for sustainable, healthy/nutritious, culturally responsive foods

Must have a suitable CORI & SORI completed within the first thirty (30) days of employment.Ability to work effectively with and meet the needs of people from a diverse range of backgrounds, cultures, and identities, including underserved communities and people from the different racial groups, socioeconomic statuses, nationalities, and languages that make up GLCAC’s clientele, to support the agency’s mission of building a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization for employees and clients alike

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