Northern Illinois Food Bank is recruiting seven Child Nutrition Summer VISTAs. Summer VISTA is a ten week program under AmeriCorps, which hires people to work at a non-profit during the Summer months. AmeriCorps is a federal program under the Corporation for National and Community Service. Therefore, Summer VISTAs will be federal employees who are assigned to work at the Food Bank. Please find more information about AmeriCorps here and determine if VISTA service is right for you.
The AmeriCorps VISTA will
work primarily with the Food Bank’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) to
build capacity with new and existing sites. VISTAs will monitor programs for
compliance, create and analyze survey data, and assist with implementation of
the mobile meals route. In 2018, the
Food Bank’s Summer Food Service Program provided meals to an average of 9102
at 132 child feeding locations. The VISTA will measure his/her built capacity
through the increase in meals served at the summer feeding programs.
Increasing access to feeding
programs provides young students with more healthy nutritious food as well as
food security for their families. Well-fed children do better in school, have higher test scores, and
fewer self-esteem issues. Early
success in school often leads to children having a better chance at attending
college, earning advanced degrees, and landing high wage jobs to rise out of
poverty. Ensuring that children have
access to the food they need for a solid education is vital in ending poverty.
