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Description:

The EBCI Local Foods Extension Associate plays a critical role in bridging the gap between communities, traditional food systems, and built environments. This position requires a blend of expertise in agriculture, nutrition, and education. The primary focus is on improving access to healthy food options, promoting sustainable local and traditional food systems, and creating environments that support healthy living.

Responsibilities associated with this role:

1. Community Engagement: Engage with local communities to understand their needs and concerns regarding food access, food independence, and built environments. Build relationships with local stakeholders, including residents, community organizations, policymakers, and businesses.

2. Education and Outreach: Deliver educational programs, workshops, and materials on nutrition, traditional foods and culture, agriculture, and sustainable development.

3. Technical Assistance: Provide technical assistance and support to community organizations, schools, and local governments seeking to implement local and traditional food-related initiatives, such as community gardens, seed banks, farmers’ markets, and healthy food retail strategies.

4. Capacity Building: Build the capacity of community leaders and organizations to address traditional and local food and built environment issues independently. Provide training, and resources to empower communities for change and implement solutions.

5. Collaboration and Networking: Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams of professionals, including public health experts, participate in local and regional networks focused on food systems, public health, and community development.

This position will be located in EBCI Center.

Primary Function of Organizational Unit:

Nationally recognized for its leadership and excellence in STEM education and research, N.C. A&T is classified as “R2-High Research Activity” in the Carnegie Classifications and is poised to achieve “R1-Very High Research Activity” status. It also holds Carnegie’s earned credential in Community Engagement and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities ( APLU ) Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation. With an annual economic impact of $2.4 billion, N.C. A&T plays a vital role as a higher-education economic driver in North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad region and across a state that is ranked No. 1 in the nation for the second straight year as “best for business” by the CNBC financial network.

Try Healthy ( SNAP -Ed) incorporates a multifaceted approach to ensure that nutrition education and obesity prevention services are comprehensive, evidence-based, and accessible across various venues. Try Healthy integrated a range of education strategies and interventions tailored to meet the needs of SNAP -ED participants. The Try Healthy plan prioritizes evidence-based curriculums, practices, and interventions that have demonstrated effectiveness in promoting healthy behaviors and preventing obesity. These interventions included nutrition workshops, cooking demonstrations, healthy recipe development, grocery store tours, community gardening initiatives, physical activity promotion, and policy support for improved food access. By offering a variety of approaches, the plan accommodates different learning styles and preferences among SNAP participants, enhancing the effectiveness of the interventions.

The Cooperative Extension Program at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is an educational outreach organization within the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. Cooperative Extension at A&T provides researched-based educational information, programming and technical assistance to limited-resource audiences that address an array of issues in four programmatic areas – Agriculture and Natural Resources, Family and Consumer Sciences, Community and Rural Development, and 4-H Youth Development. Together with its partners – North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, state, county, and tribal governments, a dynamic and resourceful system is formed. In addition to campus operations, The Cooperative Extension Program has professionally staffed offices in almost half of the 100 counties in North Carolina and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. For additional information, please visit (http://www.ncat.edu).

Internal job number: 009631

Requirements:

Bachelor’s degree; or an equivalent combination of training and experience.

All degrees must be received from appropriately accredited institutions.

Preferred:

+ Bachelor’s degree in nutrition, community or public health, or a related field

+ Two or more years of experience in related areas

Job Closing Date: 05/18/2025