The Tacoma Farmers Market creates vibrant marketplaces where local farms, small businesses, and organizations connect directly with the community. In 2020, the name and branding of the matching program changed to a statewide campaign, and TFM is striving to meet or increase 2019 SNAP/EBT sales and matching with the new state support. The SA will assist SNAP/EBT users during this transition so that shoppers continue to use SNAP/EBT and matching at the markets as a resource for fresh, healthy food. This targeted outreach will lead to an increase in new shoppers in need of programmatic support – our programs can be confusing for new users, and on the ground direct service and outreach assistance will be important for effective expansion of these programs to a wider audience of shoppers experiencing food insecurity. Project Background: Harvest VISTA, a program of Harvest Against Hunger, connects local growers, food banks and volunteers to secure fresh produce for distribution to thousands of people throughout Washington State. Harvest VISTA program finds new and innovative ways to decrease waste of fresh fruits and vegetables and increase the availability of nutritious produce for food bank clients. The VISTA Summer Associate (SA) program will work in an intensive level of summer service for 10 weeks. The SA will work to start or support existing food banks, community or school garden projects.

Member Duties : The Tacoma Farmers Market Food Access Summer Associate will have two primary goals which are to increase purchases of healthy, fresh foods by SNAP-eligible shoppers in order to improve nutrition and to support TFM SNAP Ambassadors. The SA will increase purchases of healthy, fresh foods by identifying opportunities at the market for SNAP-eligible shoppers to buy more produce, create affordable season recipes, engage and steward relationships with local chefs for demonstrations booths at the market and perform outreach through neighborhood canvassing. The second goal is to support TFM SNAP Ambassadors to increase awareness about SNAP benefits by developing and delivering market tours, create informational materials about the program. The SA will also contribute to the feasibility study of the mobile market by assessing the needs of SNAP-eligible shoppers.

Website link here: https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=87960&fromSearch=true#new_tab