Position Available
The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), a nonprofit public policy, research, and advocacy organization that works to end hunger in the U.S., is seeking a summer intern to work with FRAC's school breakfast expansion team. The intern will work with members of the breakfast team to develop resources targeted for a variety of stakeholders including state child nutrition agencies, anti-hunger and education advocates, and school districts to expand school breakfast participation, and will provide research support on emerging issues effecting the School Breakfast Program. This position will include significant exposure to policy making processes and interaction (conference calls, meetings, etc.) with leaders in the anti-hunger and nutrition policy community.
Organizational Background
FRAC is the leading national nonprofit organization working to improve public policies and public-private partnerships to eradicate hunger and undernutrition in the United States. FRAC works with hundreds of national, state and local nonprofit organizations, state and local public agencies, schools, corporations and labor organizations to address hunger, food insecurity, and their root cause, poverty.
FRAC's school breakfast expansion work is part of its Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, which focuses on increasing children's access to the federal nutrition programs. The School Breakfast Program plays a crucial role in reducing childhood hunger and improving children's health and educational achievement. This position will provide valuable experience working with key stakeholders and advocates to increase school breakfast participation by low-income children, with a special focus on encouraging schools to adopt in-classroom breakfast programs.
Skills and Qualifications
- Very strong writing and research skills; data analysis experience preferred.
- Experience and/or demonstrated interest in child health, poverty, and/or nutrition-related issues.
- Understanding of hunger and poverty and their impact upon communities, families, and individuals.
- Knowledge of the School Breakfast Program and other government programs for low-income children preferred.
- Commitment to working for social justice.
- Experience working with schools, public agencies, and nonprofits a plus.
Responsibilities and Potential Projects
- Literature review of recent school breakfast research and updating annotated bibliography of school breakfast research.
- Assist with collection of data and surveys for annual school breakfast reports ("School Breakfast Scorecard" and "School Breakfast: Making it Work in Large School Districts").
- Assist with development of technical assistance resources for state agencies and school districts to implement Community Eligibility (the newest federal option for serving free school meals in high poverty schools).
- Assist with development and data collection for survey of school administrators related to implementation of in-classroom breakfast programs.
- Create monthly newsletter to inform key stakeholders of news and updates affecting the School Breakfast Program.
- Track national, state, and local school breakfast expansion efforts, including state legislation and available grant funding opportunities for schools.
- Assist with development of in-classroom breakfast menu planning resources for schools, including a survey of existing menus.
- Research school breakfast participation in low-performing school districts taken over by the state department of education.
- Research issues related to increasing access to school breakfast in public charter schools.
