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Masters Research Assistantship Available at North Carolina State University (January 2015): Food Systems and Food Security-Farm to Childcare Centers We are seeking a motivated Masters student to contribute to a food systems and food security grant-funded project that focuses on increasing access to fresh, locally sourced fruits and vegetables for Wake County childcare facilities serving low-income children. This is a multidisciplinary graduate assistantship (details below) in partnership with Wake County Cooperative Extension, and will be co-advised by Dr. Dara Bloom (Department of Youth, Family, & Community Sciences) and Dr. Michelle Schroeder-Moreno (Department of Crop Science) at North Carolina State University (NCSU), with additional supervision from Carol Mitchell, Local Food Coordinator with Wake County Cooperative Extension. In this project, the graduate student will be responsible for coordinating logistics and training needs with local producers to build their production and marketing capacity. In addition, student will be responsible for facilitating communication and translating expectations between farmers/aggregators and child care facilities. Student will be expected to work part-time out of the Wake County Cooperative Extension office in order to gain an understanding of the local community of practitioners. Strong candidates will possess experience in sustainable agriculture, food systems, working with diverse audiences (especially producers) and a strong interest in working within food systems to improve food security, health, and farm viability. Coursework in sustainable agriculture, agroecology food systems, nutrition, sociology or related fields is highly desirable. Candidates with prior research experience, excellent written and oral communication skills, organizational skills, and ability to work independently are preferred. NC State University is located in Raleigh, North Carolina and has a large multidisciplinary team of faculty working in sustainable agriculture and strong collaborations with various community partners and organizations working on sustainable agriculture and food systems in the region. Graduate assistantship includes: • A stipend of $18,000 per year is for a total of 7 semesters (or 2.5 years) for completion of the Master’s degree program. • Full tuition support for up to 9 credit hours of classwork per regular semester. The student will be responsible for required graduate fees and medical insurance (can be waived if already have insurance). More information on the fees and medical insurance is available athttp://www.fis.ncsu.edu/cashier/tuition/gradtuition.asp and http://healthcenter.ncsu.edu/insurance/university-sponsored-health-insurance-plan/. Interested? If so, please send an email to Dr. Dara Bloom ([log in to unmask]) with: 1) CV, 2) Contact information from 3 references, and 3)a brief description of your interests and how they relate to the project by October 1, 2014. The ideal start date is January, 2015. Michelle Schroeder-Moreno, PhD Associate Professor, Agroecology Education Program Coordinator Department of Crop Science, NCSU Email: [log in to unmask] Dara Bloom, PhD Asst. Professor and Local Foods Extension Specialist Department of Youth, Family, & Community Sciences, NCSU Email: [log in to unmask]