What are the responsibilities and job description for the Local Food Systems Program Coordinator position at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin?
Description
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is the leading local hunger-relief organization in the state with locations in Milwaukee and Appleton. Founded in 1982 by the Rotary Club of Milwaukee, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is a local and independent member of the Feeding America network. Driven by our mission to solve hunger, we are bringing more people together around the table to collaboratively address the root causes of hunger. Together with our network partners, we serve nearly half a million food-insecure people across 35 counties in eastern Wisconsin each year.
Job Purpose
The Local Food Systems Program Coordinator supports the organization’s local food strategy by coordinating procurement activities, producer partnerships, and program execution to ensure locally sourced food is effectively integrated into hunger-relief efforts. This role serves as a key cross-functional coordinator for food distributions and local food initiatives, ensuring alignment across internal teams and external stakeholders. The position focuses on working alongside appropriate project leaders, engaging necessary stakeholders, reinforcing established processes, and supporting execution to ensure consistency, compliance, and operational effectiveness. The position balances local food procurement coordination, relationship management, program support, data tracking, and field engagement, operating within a highly collaborative, multi-departmental environment.
Essential Duties And Responsibilities
Local Food Procurement
Required
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DEMANDS:
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to walk, bend, twist, climb, reach above shoulders, kneel, squat, sit, stand, talk and/or hear, and/or use hands to lift, handle, or touch objects, tools, or controls. The employee must have the ability to work in a cold environment -10 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit. The employee must be able to lift and/or move up to 50 pounds while moving inventory. The mental and physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an individual to successfully perform the essential functions of this position.
Protective Clothing Required: Close-toed shoes, Warm clothing when working in cold environment.
Working Environment
Work is performed in a warehouse/office environment. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to high. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an individual encounter while performing the essential functions of this position.
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. FAEW prohibits discrimination against any applicant or employee on the basis of age, race, color, creed, religion, disability, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, arrest or conviction record, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Employment with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is contingent upon the successful completion of a background check and other pre-employment requirements applicable to the position.
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is the leading local hunger-relief organization in the state with locations in Milwaukee and Appleton. Founded in 1982 by the Rotary Club of Milwaukee, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is a local and independent member of the Feeding America network. Driven by our mission to solve hunger, we are bringing more people together around the table to collaboratively address the root causes of hunger. Together with our network partners, we serve nearly half a million food-insecure people across 35 counties in eastern Wisconsin each year.
Job Purpose
The Local Food Systems Program Coordinator supports the organization’s local food strategy by coordinating procurement activities, producer partnerships, and program execution to ensure locally sourced food is effectively integrated into hunger-relief efforts. This role serves as a key cross-functional coordinator for food distributions and local food initiatives, ensuring alignment across internal teams and external stakeholders. The position focuses on working alongside appropriate project leaders, engaging necessary stakeholders, reinforcing established processes, and supporting execution to ensure consistency, compliance, and operational effectiveness. The position balances local food procurement coordination, relationship management, program support, data tracking, and field engagement, operating within a highly collaborative, multi-departmental environment.
Essential Duties And Responsibilities
Local Food Procurement
- Coordinate sourcing and purchasing of locally produced food in alignment with organizational demand, funding requirements, and nutrition priorities
- Support development and maintenance of procurement pipelines with farms and producers to promote consistent and reliable supply
- Coordinate contract execution, pricing documentation, and purchasing processes with producers and internal stakeholders
- Facilitate communication between procurement, warehouse, and logistics teams to ensure smooth intake and distribution of local products
- Track seasonal availability, producer capacity, and purchasing trends to inform planning and decision-making
- Support planning and execution of food distributions by coordinating across internal teams and external stakeholders as needed
- Identify and confirm project leaders, key stakeholders, and roles distributions or initiatives
- Ensure alignment with established organizational processes, policies, and operational standards
- Coordinate internally with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin event coordinators, warehouse, logistics and volunteer teams
- Assist in developing and maintaining project documentation such as timelines, task tracking, and communication plans
- Support issue identification and escalation to appropriate leads or sponsors when needed
- Contribute to post-distribution reviews to capture feedback and support continuous improvement
- Maintain regular communication with local food producers to support ongoing partnerships
- Coordinate onboarding of new producers, including alignment with procurement processes and expectations
- Serve as a liaison to facilitate clear communication between producers and internal teams
- Support producers in navigating program requirements, timelines, and logistics expectations
- Participate in farm visits, agricultural events, and community meetings to maintain engagement
- Coordinate activities related to local food programs such as MealConnect, FarmLink, and Local Food for Neighbors
- Support implementation of program activities in alignment with procurement and distribution plans
- Ensure required documentation, reporting, and compliance elements are completed and maintained
- Assist in the development and refinement of processes for local food initiatives
- Track procurement activity, program metrics, and product movement using internal systems
- Maintain organized documentation for contracts, purchases, and reporting requirements
- Support budget tracking and reconciliation activities related to local food procurement and programs
- Prepare and compile reports for internal and external stakeholders
- Conduct site visits to farms and producers to support relationship management and assess supply capabilities
- Coordinate information related to harvesting schedules, product readiness, and logistics considerations
- Support communication between producers and logistics teams to facilitate efficient product movement
- Travel throughout eastern Wisconsin and occasionally statewide as required
Required
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
- Experience in procurement, purchasing, sourcing, or supply chain coordination, preferably in food or agriculture
- Experience working with farms or food producers across varying scales
- Demonstrated ability to coordinate projects or multi-stakeholder initiatives
- Strong organizational skills with attention to detail and process adherence
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and coordinate across teams
- Strong communication and relationship management skills
- Valid driver’s license and ability to travel regularly within the service area
- Commitment to understand and support FAEW’s mission, vision, and effective actions to end food insecurity and its causes.
- Respect for the people FAEW serves and commitment to learn the causes of their food insecurity and need.
- Ability to work safely following FAEW safety procedures.
- Ability to work evenings and weekends as needed.
- Background in food systems, agriculture, or nonprofit food distribution
- Experience supporting operational events, distributions, or logistics coordination
- Familiarity with contract processes and vendor coordination
- Experience working within hunger relief or food access networks
- Experience with grant-funded programs and reporting
- Multilingual skills strongly preferred, especially Spanish and/or Hmong
- Experience working with culturally diverse communities
- Strong coordination and facilitation skills across teams and stakeholders
- Understanding of project management principles with emphasis on process alignment and stakeholder engagement
- Detail-oriented with strong systems awareness and documentation discipline
- Effective communicator with ability to adapt across audiences
- Collaborative and team-oriented approach to execution
- Solutions-focused and adaptable in dynamic environments
- Commitment to equity and strengthening local food systems
PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DEMANDS:
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to walk, bend, twist, climb, reach above shoulders, kneel, squat, sit, stand, talk and/or hear, and/or use hands to lift, handle, or touch objects, tools, or controls. The employee must have the ability to work in a cold environment -10 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit. The employee must be able to lift and/or move up to 50 pounds while moving inventory. The mental and physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an individual to successfully perform the essential functions of this position.
Protective Clothing Required: Close-toed shoes, Warm clothing when working in cold environment.
Working Environment
Work is performed in a warehouse/office environment. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to high. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an individual encounter while performing the essential functions of this position.
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. FAEW prohibits discrimination against any applicant or employee on the basis of age, race, color, creed, religion, disability, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, arrest or conviction record, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Employment with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is contingent upon the successful completion of a background check and other pre-employment requirements applicable to the position.