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PSFN Welcomes New Farm to Table Coordinator

Thirty-six resumes read and eight interviews completed, Puget Sound Food Network, a project of Northwest Agriculture Business Center, is pleased to welcome Karen Mauden to our team.

Karen Mauden

Karen will be PSFN’s Farm to Table Coordinator starting November 1st.

Karen will be dedicated to our new CPPW funded project led by Seattle Human Services (Aging and Disability Services). She will be focused on connecting local food to Seattle’s least served communities through Congregate/Home Delivered Meal Programs. Karen’s responsibility will be to identify local food sources, negotiate pricing and create solutions that will lead to opportunities for expansion in Puget Sound and modeling in other cities, especially underserved communities. Representing PSFN, Karen will act as a “benevolent broker” to work with local producers and find ways to improve access to fresh fruits and vegetables for low-income adults.

Karen joins PSFN with ideal qualifications and professional experience, but she has a winning attitude and an insatiable curiosity that we really like. She is a creative thinker with a drive to succeed.

Karen had an early interest in nutrition and received her Bachelor of Science, Foods & Nutrition from Washington State University. Karen brings to this position thirty-six years experience in managing purchasing systems and distribution networks. Karen also owned her own foodservice brokerage for sixteen years. Karen is co-owner of the Houser family dairy farm in Sedro Woolley. From 3rd grade on, she worked in berry fields during summers. Her favorite job was driving the truck during pea harvest season in the Edison area. PSFN was delighted to learn that she was crowned 1971 Skagit Island Dairy Princess and received Skagit Valley College & Washington State University athletic letters in Field Hockey, Basketball and Tennis. These days, Karen likes to garden, play golf, volleyball, tennis and go hiking. She is a member of Association for Healthcare Foodservice.

Representing PSFN, Karen and Emma Brewster (http://psfn.org/blog/2010/09/psfn-welcomes-new-farm-to-community-coordinator-americorp) will be the dynamic duo dedicated to the success of this grant-funded project until the end of 2011. Karen is excited about her new role because, “I will be helping create a sustainable model for delivering produce on behalf of local farmers to designated community service organizations. This project will draw on my past 36 years foodservice experience, business networks, entrepreneurial spirit and creative thinking.” We couldn’t agree more.

Please join me in welcoming Karen to PSFN.

City of Seattle-King County Public Health announced the 2010 award recipients who applied for $8.9 million in Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) grants from the HEAL (Healthy Eating/ Active Living) Community Grant Program. The Northwest Agriculture Business Center’s Puget Sound Food Network (PSFN) received funding to participate as a partner in a CPPW funded project led by Seattle Human Services Aging and Disability Services. For more information about the project, please visit http://psfn.org/blog/2010/07/psfn-receives-cppw-grant-funding-for-partnership-with-seattle-human-services/

Posted by Lucy Norris on October 26th, 2010

CLOSED: Job Announcement: Farm to Table Coordinator (12-month contract)

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PSFN is no longer accepting applications for this position. Thank you for your interest.

Farm to Table Coordinator (12-month contract)

Puget Sound Food Network

The Northwest Agriculture Business Center’s Puget Sound Food Network (PSFN) received partial funding to participate as a partner in a CPPW funded project led by Seattle Human Services Aging and Disability Services. This Farm to Table partnership is focused on connecting local food to Seattle’s least served communities through Congregate/Home Delivered Meal Program programs. The scope of this project is to make healthy foods affordable for senior meal programs and childcare centers by cooperatively purchasing fresh local produce through a Farm to Table partnership.

PSFN is seeking Farm to Table Coordinator to act as “benevolent broker” to help improve access to fresh fruits and vegetables for low-income adults.

It will be the PSFN Farm to Table Coordinator’s responsibility to identify local food sources, negotiate pricing and create solutions that will lead to opportunities for expansion in Puget Sound and modeling in other cities, especially underserved communities. PSFN will be tasked with tracking and reporting our contributions to this project, identifying key obstacles, and recommending solutions for future endeavors. The project’s full duration is twenty months starting September 2010, however the Farm-to-Table Coordinator will be hired as one-year term contractor.

Position Scope:

Identify local farm sources for fresh produce, including, where applicable, ethnically diverse producers including Hispanic, Hmong, and other minority farm communities as resources/partners.
Facilitate and assist the Agency partners (senior nutrition and child care providers) in ways to order more local fresh produce for their programs.
Survey Agency partners about real and perceived needs, what products they want to buy, and relevant product specifications. Communicate with Agency partners on product volumes and pricing and assist with ordering produce with the goal of agencies establishing cooperative ordering processes.
Collaboratively work with WSDA staff on interpreting assessment of Agency partners and consolidating the administrative costs associated with procurement
Work closely with PSFN’s Farm to Community Coordinator and communicate all project related interactions and transactions with farmers and Agency partners, identify areas of opportunity and obstacles, assist with making recommendations for expansion
Pilot the ordering of produce from local farmers with 4 agency partners (Chicken Soup Brigade, Catholic Community Services, A child care provider, and Senior Services/Pioneer Human Services).
As needed, assist coordination of distribution and storage logistics of full and/or consolidated lots between transaction participants.
Represent PSFN at regular Farm to Table Project meetings with Agency partners and CPPW coalition gatherings. Attend NABC staff meetings when required.
Assist PSFN’s Farm-to Community Coordinator with project research and report writing and communicating all activities related to the project.
Submit monthly progress reports to grant funding contracts office

Desired Qualifications:

Career experience (10+ years) in foodservice distribution as a broker or in institutional cooperative purchasing.
Comfortable with picking up the phone and calling companies and farmers (experience working directly with Washington farmers is desired).
Knowledge about issues related to food systems redesign, regional food security, public health and preserving farming in our region.
Respectful colleague with a talent for getting along well with a variety of people and in many types of settings is highly preferred.
Ability to work independently without supervision while still being able to think and act as part of a team of collaborators working towards a common goal.
Must be willing to utilize your own home office space and equipment (including computer and cell phone) for this position. This position requires a solid working knowledge of mainstream computer software (MS Office), relational databases (web-based systems, etc.) and other technical communication devices (i.e. cell phone, handheld GPS)
Must have current Washington drivers license and be willing to use your own form of transportation. This position includes minimal in-state travel. Mileage and other regular travel expenses reimbursed.

The Puget Sound Food Network (PSFN), a project of the Northwest Agriculture Business Center, is building a supply chain support system that combines technology and professional staff to increase the production, distribution, and consumption of food and other agricultural goods produced in the region. PSFN helps retail stores, restaurants, institutions and consumers locate and receive local product in the varieties and quantities needed at competitive prices. The mission of the Puget Sound Food Network (PSFN) is to increase the production, distribution, and consumption of regionally produced food.

Interested candidates please submit a brief but descriptive cover letter and current resume to the attention of Lucy Norris, Project Manager, Puget Sound Food Network. Resumes will be accepted by email only to jobs@psfn.org between Tuesday, October 5 and Thursday, October 14. More information about PSFN can be found at www.psfn.org or by writing info@psfn.org.

Contract Term: 11/1/2010 through 12/31/2011

Location: Telecommute only within King County (Washington)

Salary: Wages are commensurate with experience and capabilities

Posted by Lucy Norris on October 2nd, 2010

PSFN Welcomes New Farm to Community Coordinator (AmeriCorp)

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Emma Brewster, Farm to Community Coordinator

Please join us in welcoming our newest AmeriCorp volunteer to NABC, Emma Brewster. Emma has accepted the position of Farm to Community Coordinator dedicated to PSFN’s Healthy Eating Active Living Farm-to-Table project. Perfectly timed, Emma will attend the first scheduled meetings with HEAL project partners in Seattle.

Emma is completing her work as a research assistant in the Department of Sociology at Cornell University examining food insecurity and other indicators of poverty in Upstate New York. Emma is very passionate about, and interested in, food and its many roles in the lives of people — particularly women. She holds a bachelors degree in Development Sociology from Cornell University with courses in Anthropology, Inequality Studies and Communication.

She has solid academic research and writing credentials in social sciences, is a critical thinker with good analytical and organizational skills. She has worked with non-profits both domestically and abroad, including New York, Kenya, Dominican Republic and Ethiopia and has served in multiple student leadership positions. Academically interested in the implications of global agriculture and the development of regional food systems intersection with public health, Emma looks forward to taking a more active role in research and community engagement here in Washington.

Emma will play an important role representing PSFN in the Farm to Table partnership led by Seattle Human Services. Emma will divide her time between Seattle and the Mt Vernon office working to establish contacts with project partners and farmers through site visits and regularly scheduled partner meetings. Emma will be responsible for tracking PSFN’s involvement in the partnership, writing reports and tracking all transactions related to the project as assigned by the HEAL Farm to Table coordinator. Throughout her 9-10 month assignment, Emma will report directly to Lucy Norris, PSFN Project Manager and will interface regularly with PSFN’s Farm to Table Coordinator and other NABC staff and contractors.

City of Seattle-King County Public Health announced the 2010 award recipients who applied for $8.9 million in Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) grants from the HEAL (Healthy Eating/ Active Living) Community Grant Program. The Northwest Agriculture Business Center’s Puget Sound Food Network (PSFN) is receiving partial funding for its partnership participation with a project led by Seattle Human Services Aging and Disability Services. The Farm to Table partnership is focused on connecting local food to Seattle’s least served communities through Congregate/Home Delivered Meal Program programs. The goal of this project is to make healthy foods, preferably local, affordable for senior congregate and home-delivered meals and child care centers by cooperatively purchasing fresh local produce through a Farm to Table partnership.

It will be the PSFN Farm to Table Coordinator’s responsibility to identify local food sources, negotiate pricing and create solutions that will lead to opportunities for expansion in Puget Sound and modeling in other cities, especially underserved communities. A job announcement for Farm to Table Coordinator will be posted later this year. PSFN will be tasked with tracking and reporting our contributions to this project, identifying key obstacles, and creating new solutions for the future. The project’s full duration is twenty months starting September 2010.

Posted by Lucy Norris on September 10th, 2010

PSFN Announces Opening for Skagit-based Farm to Community Coordinator (AmeriCorps)

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AmeriCorps Opportunities at NABC

The Northwest Agriculture Business Center (NABC) has service opportunities for two AmeriCorps volunteers. Both positions relate to underserved communities: eliminating hunger and providing access to food in low-income urban and rural communities.

Farm to Community Coordinator:

The Northwest Agriculture Business Center’s Puget Sound Food Network (PSFN) is receiving partial funding for its participation in one of two HEAL grants awarded to Seattle Human Services. This project is focused on connecting local food to Seattle’s least served communities through the Congregate/Home Delivered Meal Program. The goal of this project is to make healthy foods, preferably local products, affordable for senior congregate and home-delivered meals and child care centers by cooperatively purchasing fresh local produce through a Farm-to-Table partnership. The Farm to Community Coordinator will work with PSFN and NABC staff and partnering organizations to support development of this innovative program.

PSFN is pleased to announce a new opportunity for a Skagit-based AmeriCorps Farm to Community Coordinator at the NABC offices in Mt Vernon. This job is open to any AmeriCorps volunteer who lives in or close Skagit, and willing and able to travel to Seattle at least one day per week for important meetings. PSFN is seeking an individual with solid academic research and writing experience in social sciences or the humanities, someone who is a critical thinker with good analytical skills, and is eager to learn. Preferred candidates have an academic background or equivalent professional experience in food studies or public health, has basic research and data gathering skills, organizational skills, and is also willing to share administrative support duties at the NABC offices as needed. NABC/PSFN ideally would prefer someone who dreams of this kind of opportunity as an open door into a career in public health/food policy and/or childhood or geriatric nutrition.

For more information about the PSFN and its participation in the CPPW HEAL grant project, read our previous blog at http://psfn.org/blog/2010/07/psfn-receives-cppw-grant-funding-for-partnership-with-seattle-human-services.

Farm To Market Coordinator:

The AmeriCorps volunteer will work with the staff and students of NABC’s Greenbank Farm Training Center, collaborators from outside organizations, and members of the public to support production of, and access to, locally produced food for all members of the community based on the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) model. Responsibilities will include marketing and other research, assisting with farm product processing and delivery to low-income familiies, demonstrating products and developing marketing materials to raise awareness of local products and the value of locally grown food, working with agriculture busineses to help increase their sustainability and profitibility, coordinating educational workshops for farmers and the public, project administration and related support activities.

Applicants must work through the Skagit County Community Action Agency first to sign up for AmeriCorps or get pre-screened for our positions. For more information about joining AmeriCorps and applying for either of these positions, please contact:

Jennifer Rice,

VISTA and AmeriCorps Coordinator
Skagit County Community Action Agency
jen@servenorthwestwa.org

360-588-5720
360-416-7585 ext. 1185 (main desk)

For more information about PSFN and the HEAL project specifically, please contact:

Lucy Norris, Project Manager, Puget Sound Food Network
lucy@psfn.org
206-420-1229 Seattle office (Seattle office)
360-336-3727 (PSFN office)

For more information about the Greenbank Farm Training Center project, please contact:

Maryon Attwood, Project Manager
Maryon@agbizcenter.org
360-336-3727 (main office)

Posted by Lucy Norris on August 9th, 2010

PSFN Receives CPPW Grant Funding for Partnership with Seattle Human Services

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On July 21, 2010, City of Seattle-King County Public Health announced the 2010 award recipients who applied for $8.9 million in Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) grants. Award recipients represent many talented and passionate local organizations committed to increasing healthy choices for King County residents.

Seattle Human Services Department was awarded two HEAL (Healthy Eating/Active Living) grants and Puget Sound Food Network (PSFN) is receiving partial funding for its participation in one focused on connecting local food to Seattle’s least served communities through the Congregate/Home Delivered Meal Program. The goal of this project is to make healthy foods, preferably local products, affordable for senior congregate and home-delivered meals and child care centers by cooperatively purchasing fresh local produce through a Farm-to-Table partnership.

Aging and Disability Services will set up regular Farm-to-Table coordination meetings to create a strategy for and track the progress of the cooperative purchase of local produce from local farmers. Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) will assess senior meal provider capacity to plan seasonal menus, store and prepare fresh produce. WSDA will also train meal site managers as needed. WSDA and PSFN will work together to identify and link meal program purchasers to ethnically diverse farmers who have produce available at an affordable price. Clean Greens Farm will expand growing capacity within existing land to offer produce that meets meal provider cost and produce specifications. Meal providers will purchase processing equipment as needed, facilitate staff training, and pilot test cooperative purchasing at 2 to 3 meal sites. After the pilot test, meal providers will implement cooperative purchasing for home-delivered and congregate meals. WSDA will assess the feasibility of expansion of cooperative purchasing to ELFS child care centers.

PSFN is receiving a total of $57,624 of the $200,000 awarded to this specific project to hire a contractor who will serve as “benevolent broker” for a 12-month term, and act as PSFN’s project liaison working directly with local food producers on behalf of senior meal services, childcare centers and public school sites identified by Seattle Human Services in underserved South Seattle. It will be PSFN’s responsibility to directly identify local food sources, negotiate pricing and create solutions that will lead to a richer understanding to create opportunities for expansion and modeling for similar models in other cities, especially underserved communities. PSFN will be tasked with tracking and reporting our contributions to this project, identifying key obstacles, and creating new solutions for the future. The full project’s duration is twenty months starting this month. Recruitment for the 12-month HEAL project contractor will commence in late 2010.

PSFN is proud to be engaged in this new partnership because it has enormous potential to make a positive impact on the health and sustainability of both urban and rural communities, while helping to preserve our rich farming traditions in Northwest Washington by creating diverse market opportunities for local food.

For more information about CPPW, it’s goals and a full list of direct grant recipients, please visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/partnerships/CPPW.aspx.

Please contact Lucy Norris, PSFN Project Manager, at lucy@psfn.org for information related to PSFN’s role in this important new project.

Posted by Lucy Norris on July 28th, 2010

Washington State Department of Corrections Seeks Local Farm Vendors

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Washington State Department of Corrections has embraced the challenge to improve sustainability in its facilities. Several prisons already have inmate garden programs. To build on this effort, they are launching a local produce purchasing pilot program at Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen and Monroe Correctional Facility in Monroe for the 2010 and 2011 growing seasons. These facilities are calling for farms to participate as direct market vendors in the program. The Monroe and Stafford Creek facilities each have programs for inmate food processing and preparation. Farms will be encouraged to sell produce in a field-packed, unprocessed state in order to keep costs low and optimize the benefits to both buyer and seller.

BONUS OPPORTUNITY: If you are interested, and want to get started early, we are seeking farms who have product to sell to Monroe Correctional Facility, who can deliver on April 19th and do a tasting for an Earth Day event they are having. Please call ASAP if you’d like to participate.

For PSFN members who are interested in more information contact Tricia Kovacs.
Phone: 206-256-6150
tkovacs@agr.wa.gov

Posted by Elliot on April 9th, 2010

Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance seeks Manager of Operations

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Seattle based non-profit (NFMA) that operates 7 neighborhood farmers markets in Seattle is seeking a highly qualified individual to be Manager of Operations.

This position requires a highly organized individual who has a demonstrated history of progressively responsible experience managing non-profits, farmers markets, small business or special events, and superior supervisory and leadership skills.

The candidate should have excellent interpersonal skills and communicate effectively in person and in writing. Candidate should also be competent in a variety of software including Word, Excel and QuickBooks. Bachelors Degree or higher plus 3 year’s previous administrative and non-profit organization experience required.

Pay DOE – range is $3400 – $3750 a month with a good benefit package.

The full job description for this position is available on the NFMA website at www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org

Only resumes with a cover letter stating why you want to work at the NFMA will be considered. Applications received by March 8, 2010 will receive first consideration.

Send cover letters and resumes to nfma@seattlefarmersmarkets.org

Posted by Elliot on February 26th, 2010