Internship - Farmers Market: Local Food Access
Join Richmond Parks & Recreation this summer for an exciting internship opportunity! Our department manages 19 parks/recreation facilities, runs over 250 events annually, hosts multiple summer camps, and works with dozens of community partners each year to fulfill our goal of making Richmond a fun place to live, grow, and play.
We offer a wide variety of internship opportunities each year, and love to adapt our opportunities to your particular interests or passions! We have small, tight knit staff that loves working with young professionals (like you!) to give hands-on experience in the field. We also conduct a weekly “Workshop Wednesday” for interns with professional and career information. We even have a limited amount of free housing available within walking distance of our office for our interns!
If you are interested in one of our internship opportunities, want more information, or want to discuss a customized opportunity of some kind, please don’t hesitate to reach out! You can contact us via the contact details listed in our profile.
Students are encouraged to seek academic credit with their home campus for this unpaid internship. All internships comply with standards for internship programs under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Local Food Access Intern
Job Description
Unpaid, free housing available
Reports to: Richmond Farmers Market Coordinator
Summary
The Local Food Access Intern serves to assist the Richmond Farmers Market Coordinator at the Richmond Parks and Recreation Department. Incumbent will help plan, organize, coordinate and direct outreach and educational programs related to increasing awareness/utilization of the Richmond Farmers Market by underserved populations in Richmond, assist in the implementation of the SNAP Double Dollars Program, and assist in the planning and execution of weekly Markets for the Richmond Farmers Market under the supervision of the Richmond Farmers Market Coordinator. Work dates are flexible, and there are limited opportunities for employer-provided housing (first come, first serve).
Job Functions
- Assist in organizing, leading, promoting and evaluating educational/outreach efforts relating to local food
- Work with a diverse group of farmers, community groups, and other partners to improve local food access.
- Maintain and grow weekly newsletter to Market customers
- Organize and oversee cooking demonstrations at Market
- Organize and maintain necessary supplies for programs/activities
- Provide daily interaction with users to provide consistent high-quality experience
- Assist in the setup, running, and breakdown of bi-weekly Markets on Saturday mornings and Tuesday evenings
- Support and assist participants, volunteers and staff while in program activities
- Support Market Coordinator in record-keeping and reporting duties
- Other duties as assigned
Job Qualifications
- Preferred: College student majoring in Environmental Sustainability, Agricultural Science, Health Sciences, Recreation Management, or related major.
- Previous customer service relations experience preferred.
- Ability to follow the policies and procedures set forth by the City of Richmond and the Richmond Parks and Recreation Department.
- Strong supervisory and management skills and ability to work alone with minimum supervision, multitask, and complete assignments effectively.
- Ability to work some evenings and weekends as needed
- Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communications skills. Working knowledge of Standard English grammar, spelling and punctuation, and ability to compose and prepare correspondence.
- Ability to prepare and make public speaking presentations, effectively communicate orally, and in writing with co-workers, other City departments, partnerships and the public.
- Maintain contact with co-workers, other City departments, funding and regulatory agencies, vendors and the public for purposes of exchanging information, explaining/interpreting policies and procedures, coordinating operations, supervising personnel, and communicating with staff and supervisor and resolving problems as needed.
Physical Requirements
This position requires the ability to handle/grasp objects, close vision, and hearing sounds/ communication. Physical effort may involve standing/walking for long periods and lifting objects up to 50 pounds.