EcoTalent Internship – Community Food Organiser at National Food Service London (Hackney)

About the job

NATIONAL FOOD SERVICE LONDON COMMUNITY FOOD ORGANISER INTERNSHIP

Job Profile

We are looking for a Community Food Organiser to work closely with local community partners in Hackney, Haringey and Islington and members of our community, including Community Cooks graduates, to support the establishment of social eating events and projects in the local area. These events and projects will bring people together to share nutritious, sustainable food and spend time with one another, building connections and community.

You will be expected to be available for in-person and online sessions, events, meetings and workshops. We are flexible with the days that best suit you to commit to this project.

You will work in a small team of Community Food Organisers, each leading on their own projects. There will be the opportunity to support ongoing projects and learn about alternative, radical, sustainable food models.

Our Community Food Organisers are actively listening to their community’s needs, providing support and encouragement, building social connections and resources to overcome challenges. Your role will be to bring people together and create opportunities for sharing, celebration and community care. You will facilitate a space for learning, knowledge sharing, experimentation and connection. It is likely that new ideas and projects will emerge in this space. You will be working with people to co-design projects and explore ideas for food justice in our local community.

This position is funded by the Government’s Kickstart Scheme. You will participate in the EcoTalent Programme to support your professional development. You will receive your Level 2 Food Hygiene & Safety Certificate.

You will work remotely and at a number of locations in and around Hackney including The Old School Rooms, House of Annetta, The Castle Garden and Elizabeth House Community Centre.

NFSL Community Food Organiser Roles & Responsibilities

• Build relationships with people.
• Support people to step into community ‘initiator’ roles.
• Facilitate an inclusive space where members of the community can build relationships with each other and work collaboratively.
• Collaborate with local organisations and partners to organise regular social eating events in venues in Hackney, Haringey and Islington.
• Build relationships with local shops, wholesalers and food surplus distributors.
• Complete risk assessments and organise logistics for events.
• Organise the acquisition of food and resources for social eating events.
• Promote events on social media and through our networks
• Support residents to address barriers to participating in events.
• Record and share your learning and insights with the NFSL team and partner organisations.

Time with Feedback

In addition to working with your host organisation, you will spend a proportion of your time receiving additional training and development with Feedback and external facilitators. This time will be spent learning more about the environmental and ecological crisis and how it relates to the food system; it will also include elements of activism training and bespoke support based on your professional development.

Who we are looking for:

Essential

• Local to Hackney or a neighbouring borough
• Skills in community organising, facilitation and listening.
• Appreciation for the role of food in bringing people together and strengthening community connections
• A strong passion for tackling the integrated issues of food justice, social isolation and food waste.
• Empathetic, personable, friendly and approachable
• Highly organised, good communication skills, proactive and a self-starter
• Confident using software, including spreadsheets
• Committed to challenging inequality, racism and injustice. A willingness and openness to learn, knowledge-share and self-educate.

Desirable

• Experience organising events
• Experience working in a food justice organisation.
• Experience of working or organising in a sociocratic organisation.
• Valid UK driving license

Eligibility:

In order for your application to be considered, you need to fulfil the following eligibility criteria:

1. You must be aged 18-24 years old
2. You must be legally entitled to work in the UK
3. You must currently be in receipt of Universal Credit and referred via the Job Centre Portal.

PLEASE NOTE: Eco Talent placements are designed to assist those who have experienced barriers to entry in to the environmental and community food sectors. As such, we will prioritise candidates who do not have undergraduate or postgraduate qualifications. We still encourage you to apply if you have an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

Inclusivity

These placements are open to everyone, regardless of experience or background. We acknowledge that the environmental sector is less open to young people from under-represented backgrounds and we’re committed to doing what we can to correct this. We especially want to hear from you if you feel that opportunities like this are less available to you, or if you feel overlooked by mainstream institutions.

 No previous experience in the environmental sector is necessary. We encourage applications from:

• People who are passionate about affecting positive change and want to take action to tackle climate change but have not studied a relevant subject at college or university.
• People who have studied a relevant subject at university but have not been able to secure paid employment in that sector within a year of graduating.
• People who are interested in training in practical food delivery (cooking, growing or distribution) with a sustainable focus but have little or no previous professional experience.
• People who are interested in environmental campaigning but do not feel confident in how to take steps towards this

National Food Service London – About us

NFS London is collective of London-based food-lovers, cooks, growers, activists and organisers.

Our mission is to grow and nurture a world where communities face no barriers to creating their own sustainable, resilient, and diverse food systems. One that builds and celebrates capacity for autonomy over access and production of good food in all London’s communities.

We started with an emergency food provision service in North Hackney, organised by local residents in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Since April 2020, we have cooked and delivered over 24,000 nutritious, tasty vegetarian and vegan meals plus 3,120 grocery packages to people in need of access to food.

We dream of a world where emergency food provision is no longer necessary. We dream of a world where all communities mutually flourish by planting, growing, nurturing, harvesting, cooking, and sharing all the food we need to thrive.

About Feedback

Feedback is a small NGO that works on transforming the food system. We are known for our bold campaigning style and are proud to often be called 'the troublemakers in the room' for calling out greenwashing and the lacklustre efforts of big corporations. We work across multiple aspects of our food system, including industrial meat, food waste, farmed fish, British sugar and ‘green’ energy generated through Anaerobic Digestion of edible food. https://feedbackglobal.eu/ You will spend the 1^st and 7^th week of your placement with Feedback. This time will be spent on learning more about the environmental and ecological crisis and how it relates to the food system, and on your own professional development working on skills such as job application and CV writing, and interview skills.  You will also spend 0.5 days per week during your placement with Feedback, this time will be spent gaining further skills, discussing your progress, and creating networks. Feedback is supported by Our Bright Future to offer 36 paid internship placements with environmental organisations between January 2020 and June 2021. Each placement lasts around 15 weeks and is paid Living Wage. Young people aged 18-24 may apply, and placements will be made with host organisations working in the nexus of food and the environment. These placements have been created to offer more accessible points of entry into the environmental sector in the hope of training a workforce of sustainable food leaders and increasing diversity in the environmental sector. Apply Now