Farm To School Director

FARM TO SCHOOL DIRECTOR

Tahoe Food Hub:
TAHOE FOOD HUB is a 501(c)-3, non-profit organization based in Truckee, CA. We were founded in 2013 to be a hub for local, sustainably-grown food! Our mission is to provide a food system that supports regenerative and sustainable farming practices by increasing access to local food for North Lake Tahoe. By addressing local food access challenges at a systems level, we create a hub for local food. A local food system benefits diversified, family farms looking for fair market opportunities while increasing access to local food for our mountain community.

Sierra Growing Classroom program (SGC):
SGC provides year-round garden education in a geodesic greenhouse called a Growing Dome to students in the Truckee Tahoe region. The SGC educates students about the importance of local farms; healthy eating habits and how regenerative agriculture can help mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon in the soil. SGC provides experiential learning and compliments what students are learning in the classroom. Program goals include: 1) Provide a garden classroom for all students in the Truckee-Tahoe community. 2) Be a community hub for learning about sustainable, local food systems. 3) Serve as inspiration for achieving food sovereignty in our community. Tangible outcomes include: 1) Connect people to where their food comes from and the importance of supporting local farms. 2) Get people excited about the potential of soil to mitigate climate change through regenerative farming practices. 3) Empower residents of our region to vote with their fork and become climate conscious eaters.

Farm to School Director

The Farm to School Director is responsible for all aspects of overseeing the Sierra Growing Classroom program and farm to school related projects. The F2S Director is part of a program development team working together to ensure Tahoe Food Hub’s community impact programs are achieving organizational goals to support local farms, increase access to local food and mitigate climate change. The F2S Director will be responsible for spearheading the launch of the SGC program and developing its strategic plan for the next three years. The F2S Director reports directly to the Executive Director. The F2S Director will be trained on all aspects of the organization to have a well-rounded understanding for how a non-profit food hub works and the critical role an earned-income model plays in funding its community impact programs. The F2S Director may be asked to assist in one or more of the following but will not be asked to go over their scheduled 40hrs/week: helping on receiving night, building orders in the warehouse; working in the Farmacy, tabling at community events, etc.

Duties and Responsibilities:

●      Design a program that meets programmatic goals and organizational goals of Tahoe Food Hub

●      Research and organize curriculum to meet Common Core and Next Generation Science standards.

●      Lead the program development of the SGC

●      Create an online menu of lessons where teachers can select activities that fit lesson plans.

●      Create a marketing plan for outreaching to the schools, teachers, and principals.

●      Coordinate a calendar of school tours.

●      Lead school tours throughout the year. On average two per week in fall/spring and one per week in winter.

●      Design, promote and lead 2-3 summer camps, est. 5-day camp for 4-6hrs/day.

●      Organize 2-3 community outreach fund and friend raiser events per year.

●      Build relationships with community partners and key stakeholders. Including but not limited to: SWEP, Gateway Mountain Center, SOS Outreach, Tahoe Ability Program, Tahoe Institute of Natural Science and Headwaters Science Institute.

●      Liaison to Tahoe Truckee Unified School District (TTUSD) for executing the educational components of the 2-year CDFA F2S Incubator Grant:

o   Work with graphic designer to design educational materials and signage.

o   Coordinate with TTUSD Food Service Director & Staff to implement cafeteria displays.

o   When needed, schedule and run in-classroom education for classes that cannot visit the SGC.

●      Responsible for all aspects of farming in the Growing Dome and surrounding landscapes creating a monthly schedule for what needs to happen in order to keep the gardens in production year-round.

●      Responsible for managing the SGC campus and keeping it in good working order ensuring maintenance schedule are adhered too and that the garden and surrounding landscapes are clean and organized

●      Responsible for developing and maintaining SOP’s for the SGC campus

●      Responsible for managing a part-time farm Director when hired in 2024 but F2S Mgr is responsible for all growing until funds are available for hiring for that position

●      Manage all digital marketing and promotion including a monthly SGC program newsletter and coordination with Program Director on social media posts and website updates.

●      Prepare program budget and manage program to meet budget requirements.

●      Outreach and coordinate volunteer team.

●      Oversee and lead the SGC advisory board.

●      When funding allows to bring on a 2nd staff, supervise F2S Farm Director.

●      Develop program evaluation methods, conduct surveys and analyzes data. Track key program metrics and suggest continuous program improvements based on analytics.

●      Monthly program reports to the Executive Director. And Quarterly reports for any grant requirements

Skills and Qualifications

●      With this role, TFH is asking for a 1-year commitment to see through the launch of the SGC.

●      1-2 years experience in farm to school programming,

●      2-3 years experience leading a team and/or managing staff to accomplish a goal

●      experience in curriculum development and K-12 garden education preferred.

●      Strong organizational, planning, and interpersonal skills.

●      Ability to communicate efficiently and effectively both verbally and written. Experience writing copy for newsletters and print editorial required.

●      Problem solving skills, able to multi-task and comfortable with being flexible and diplomatic.

●      Able to facilitate a meeting and lead a large group through a site visit, tour, or hands-on activities.

●      Experience working with Excel, Word and Google Suite.

●      Budget management and accountability.

●      Must have a strong alignment with the mission of Tahoe Food Hub and be able to communicate, motivate and inspire others about Tahoe Food Hub’s mission driven work.

●      Familiarity with trends and interest to research garden education, regenerative agriculture, health & nutrition, food access.

●      Demonstrate high attention to detail.

●      Self-motivated, driven and organized.

●      Able to manage competing deadlines is essential.

●      Strong time management for a position that is very diverse requiring both office/computer time as well as time managing the garden/farm and leading school tours.

●      Comfortable with hard work, manual labor, yard work and moving boxes over 30lbs.

Compensation & Benefits:

The Farm to School Director is a full-time 40hrs/week position. Compensation range is $23-26/hr and will be DOE.  Benefits include three paid sick/personal days per year; 2-week paid vacation; health benefits with employer covering 90%; vision & dental available at employee’s expense; 25% employee discount; a free weekly Harvest Box. A 6-month review will evaluate performance and an annual review thereafter.