Food Security Research Specialist VISTA

The Greater Lawrence Community Action Council, Inc. (GLCAC) is the federally-designated Community Action Agency (CAA) for the Greater Lawrence area. Since 1965, the agency has proudly served the towns of Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, and North Andover; this is the area GLCAC is tasked with serving by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. GLCAC began with the passage of the Economic Opportunity Act in 1964, which established a national network of CAA programs. The Economic Opportunity Act was created by the Lyndon B. Johnson Administration, with the counsel of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. CAAs were formed as a means of fighting the “war on poverty.” GLCAC’s work is to disrupt poverty and promote the improvement of community life in Greater Lawrence through programs providing education, social services, child care, health and nutrition services, housing, employment supports, and more. Since its inception, the GLCAC, Inc. has partnered with local, state, and federal governments and private agencies in creating opportunities and providing a lifeline for people living in poverty. Currently GLCAC serves over 42,000 clients annually and has an annual operating budget of over $37 million. GLCAC’s mission is as follows: "The Greater Lawrence Community Action Council, Inc. creates opportunities by collaborating with our community and empowering individuals to achieve their goals." GLCAC main office is located in downtown Lawrence, MA at 305 Essex Street, MA 01840. GLCAC phone number is 978-681-4900. Website: www.glcac.org. The GLCAC VISTA will contribute to the goal of improving access to food for the people in our community experiencing food insecurity. The VISTA will contribute to the Food Security project by performing activities such as researching, developing, and piloting a more equitable, inclusive, accessible, and efficient food service model and developing systems that connect food insecure participants to wrap around services.

VISTA member will contribute to the goals of the project by performing activities such as researching, developing, and piloting a more equitable, inclusive, accessible, and efficient food service model and developing systems that connect food insecure participants to wrap around services and nutrition benefit programs over the course of the three-year project. The VISTA will attend the Food Security Advisory Committee meetings. VISTA will meet with community partners and provide a summary of food support systems that connect our food pantry participants to services. The VISTA will research by comparing and contrasting current food pantry models. The VISTA will research and identify all food resources and food assistance models available to our population seeking food assistance.