Calfresh Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Are you a skilled professional who believes in lending your skills to end hunger during these unprecedented times? If so, consider being the Bilingual CalFresh Ambassador Coordinator for the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. Join our friendly, collaborative, and hardworking CalFresh team, reporting to the Bilingual CalFresh Outreach Supervisor.
The Bilingual (Cantonese) CalFresh Ambassador (CFA) Coordinator is responsible for leading & supporting CFA volunteer cohorts as they motivate & support unenrolled peers with CalFresh (also called SNAP, previously "food stamps") via outreach activities and the SF-Marin Food Bank's CalFresh application services. These volunteers represent & support specific San Francisco and Marin County populations historically underenrolled in CalFresh and affected, positively or negatively, by recent CalFresh eligibility changes. The Coordinator works directly with their volunteers primarily through in-person collaboration at meetings, trainings, outreach activities, and CalFresh enrollment events. The Coordinator will also work to maintain relationships with community partners hosting CFA cohorts and their activities.
This position is approximately 30 hours a week and can vary from 6 to 8 hours a day. As an outreach team, we do our best to share event assignments 2 weeks in advance, but the schedule may change due to occasional invitations and coverage needs for new or existing outreach events emerging last-minute, and staff schedule updates may be requested. Additional hours may be available on an as-needed basis.
This position is for a 1-year (12-month) term beginning date of hire, and employment beyond 12 months is contingent upon funding. At least 1 position will primarily work in Marin County.
Who We Are:
The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank's mission is to end hunger in San Francisco and Marin counties. We envision a community free of the root causes of hunger, where everyone has access to nutritious food of their choosing and is uplifted by a network of support.
Together with more than 250+ community partners, we work to address hunger head-on through a coordinated network of neighborhood food pantries, CalFresh enrollment, home-delivered groceries, and policy and advocacy efforts. We work with our community to provide food for people facing hunger today while working to end the hunger of tomorrow. This fiscal year, we are serving 42,000 households per week. Nearly 70% of what we distribute is fresh fruits and vegetables. Visit sfmfoodbank.org to learn more.
Who You Are:
To excel in this position, you will need to approach the work with the following habits and values:

• Collaboration & Teamwork: Partner with others to connect people with CalFresh. Acknowledge & show appreciation for others' contributions. Proactively seek needed support from teammates or a supervisor.

• Customer Focus: Enjoy diverse interactions and meeting people where they are. Seek new opportunities to share CalFresh education with underenrolled populations.

• Value Differences: Develop sensitivity & understanding of low-income community members' needs, cultures, and perspectives. Incorporate learnings into day-to-day work.

• Judgment: Build awareness of which situations to address with independent action and which to escalate. Act in service of connecting someone to food assistance.

• Self-Awareness & Professionalism: Utilize personal strengths and seek support for skills needing development. Prioritize client confidentiality and protect personal information.

• Deliver Commitments: Accept & follow through on assigned responsibilities. Work daily to advance food security, social justice, and community advocacy, one person at a time.

• Adaptability & Resiliency: Learn from change & unexpected challenges, adapting responses to individual situations. Comfortably de-escalate challenging interactions.

What You Would Be Accountable for:
The Bilingual CalFresh Ambassador Coordinator is accountable for the following key pieces of work:

• Support the recruitment & retention of CFA volunteer cohorts representing specific San Francisco and Marin County populations underenrolled in CalFresh.

• Be the primary contact for CFA volunteer cohorts and community partners, coordinating between them & the Food Bank for CFA involvement at outreach & enrollment events.

• Support the Supervisor in organizing & facilitating regular cohort gatherings, including programmatic training, skills practice, and check-in meetings.

• Track & report data from CFA volunteers, such as CalFresh outreach activities & outcomes, referrals & enrollments, volunteer hours, etc.

• Gather best practices and escalate barriers & challenges that CFA volunteers face during outreach, and that community members face in accessing benefits.

What You Would Be Doing Right Now:

• Develop understanding of CalFresh program eligibility and recent changes, especially for specific underenrolled populations such as college students, seniors, and/or veterans.

• Recruit volunteers for CFA cohorts-outreach, encourage qualified individuals with relevant lived experiences to apply, and support in applicant screening/vetting.

• Support & facilitate regular training & meetings for volunteer cohorts-coordinate schedules, book & prepare spaces, gather supplies, and other needed tasks

• With the Supervisor, identify, schedule, and support CFA volunteers at resource fairs, community tabling, virtual events, etc., where they can help their peers understand CalFresh eligibility, connect with application assistance, and maintain benefits.

• Perform & support outreach & referral efforts in person, over the phone, and virtually.

• Perform CalFresh application assistance as needed, including any necessary follow-ups.

• Maintain communications & relationships with local community-based organizations, higher education institutions, and other agencies hosting CFA cohorts or activities.

• With Supervisor support, guide CFA volunteers in understanding basic CalFresh rules & policies, and share updates & resources as rules evolve.

• Maintain an adequate supply of educational & marketing materials for CFA volunteers to use in any outreach effort. Obtain from the Supervisor any new or updated materials.

• Track & report CFA volunteers' outreach activities & outcomes, referrals for application assistance, volunteer hours, and other needed data. Maintain confidentiality & safety of client information obtained in any interaction.

• Identify & schedule with the Supervisor any additional skills development, training, or practice that CFA volunteers need to be successful.

• Support volunteer retention within cohorts by identifying & addressing obstacles to participation. Encourage high-performing individuals to re-apply for future opportunities.

• Support screening and/or referring community members to other Food Bank programming or outside resources.

• Share feedback about barriers CFA volunteers face in connecting to unenrolled peers, and clients face in accessing or maintaining CalFresh benefits.

• Other duties as assigned.

What Else You Should Know:
All internal candidates must apply using their Food Bank work email within 10 business days of posting to be considered. Applications submitted after 10 days are still welcome but may not be reviewed or afforded an interview, depending on the status of the selection process.
REQUIRED EXPERIENCE:

• 1+ years of experience in peer navigation and/or community engagement.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE:

• Recent experience being a member of or working with specific underserved food insecure populations, including college students, seniors, veterans, and households with mixed immigration statuses.

• Lived experience accessing public benefits.

• Experience in leading & coordinating work with volunteer groups.

• Knowledge & experiencing working in & with organizations in either San Francisco or Marin County.

• Experience working with other communities facing multiple barriers to receiving services; knowledge of Bay Area food security landscape preferred.

KEY KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, & ABILITIES:

• Fluency in English-receive a level 9 score on the verbal assessment.

• Ability to speak, read, or write in Cantonese-receive a level 9 score on the verbal & written assessment.

• Computer literacy-must pass a data accuracy & speed assessment.

• Capacity to learn new systems, and flexibility to adapt to them.

• Demonstrated proficiency & comfort leading and coordinating small to medium groups.

• Dependability in maintaining a flexible schedule-which may change to include nights and weekends during busy periods-and communicating when changes are needed.

• Demonstrated ability to follow established procedures.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS:

• This role requires regular travel between sites in San Francisco and Marin County, including transporting outreach and event materials. A valid driver's license is required.

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience preferred.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT:
This position is set in a hybrid environment. Outreach events may be indoors or outdoors in the community. The physical and environmental demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
This role requires regular travel between sites in San Francisco and Marin County and the transport of outreach materials/equipment. Candidates must be able to meet these travel and transportation requirements with or without reasonable accommodation.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
POSITION COVERED BY OPEIU LOCAL 29 BARGAINING UNIT.
SALARY The position is fixed-term part-time. The starting salary for this position ranges from $33.27-34.31, with exact salary depending on experience.
BENEFITS All positions are offered generous holiday and sick time as well as retirement savings. This position also qualifies for medical, dental, life, long-term disability, and vacation time.
The San Francisco-Marin Food bank is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we value having staff who come from communities that we serve. We especially encourage people of color, folks from the LGBTQIA2+ community, and people with disabilities to apply. In accordance with and support of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we encourage formerly incarcerated individuals and those with arrest and conviction records to apply.