Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program Outreach and Education

The CCE Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) Outreach Team is a collaboration among the Food and Nutrition Education in Communities (FNEC) work group in the Division of Nutritional Sciences, CCE of Broome County, and CUCE-NYC. Collectively the team provides 1) consumer nutrition education at New York State (NYS) farmers’ markets to promote use selection and consumption of local produce, 2) training and educational materials for FMNP participants, CCE FMNP staff, and farmers’ market managers and vendors, 3) leadership for a statewide Program Work Team of FMNP stakeholders who identify collaborative efforts to enhance program implementation and evaluation. The 2024 CCE summer intern will work with the FMNP Outreach team in each of these domains to increase the reach and impact of the NYS FMNP program.

Roles and responsibilities 

The CCE summer intern will:

  • Attend FMNP Outreach meetings, including but not limited to weekly meetings with faculty and/or field supervisors, monthly FMNP Outreach Team meetings, and quarterly FMNP PWT meetings as possible
  • Work with the FMNP Outreach Team to complete FMNP education training and shadow experienced FMNP educators at NYS farmers’ markets
  • Provide independent education at farmers’ markets and other community locations within a 1-hour radius of Ithaca, using FMNP education materials, recipe samples prepared by the intern, and FMNP evaluation forms. The student will be required to attend outdoor markets which operate on weekdays and weekends during a range of hours, including some evenings
  • Support statewide evaluation data entry into a shared database
  • In collaboration with other educators, perform an informal needs assessment of the FMNP educational and promotional materials to provide feedback on and recommendations for future materials
  • Update and/or develop new educational and promotional materials, including content for the FMNP Outreach website, and data collection and monitoring strategies related to FMNP education
  • As relevant, participate in FMNP PWT projects

Qualifications and previous coursework

This opportunity is available to students in Cornell University's College of Human Ecology.

The successful intern will:

  • Have interest in public health and community nutrition
  • Have experience working with diverse, limited resource audiences
  • Will have some basic nutrition and food service knowledge
  • The selected intern will be required to drive on behalf of the summer project and will need to have reliable transportation

Learning outcomes 

After completing this internship, the CCE summer intern will be able to:

  • Describe the purpose and importance of the FMNP program, CCE FMNP Outreach, and the FMNP PWT
  • Demonstrate effective FMNP consumer education at farmers’ markets and other related locations
  • Prepare recipes for market customer sampling using proper food safety guidelines and locally grown, in-season produce
  • Collect relevant evaluation data at FMNP education events
  • Develop and apply needs assessment approaches for FMNP materials review
  • Identify and develop needed FMNP Outreach materials
  • Propose opportunities for collaborative improvement in FMNP Outreach efforts