Position Type: AmeriCorps State
Service Commitment: September 2, 2026 – July 16, 2027
Final Application Deadline: August 20, 2026
Car required? Recommended
Driver’s License Required? Yes
Position Summary:
Salish Kootenai College provides quality post-secondary educational opportunities and support for American Indians, locally and from throughout the United States, to achieve their academic and career goals. The College will perpetuate the cultures of the Séliš, Ksanka, and Qlispe’ peoples. The College will empower students to improve the lives of their families and communities through research, leadership, and service. SKC is located in Pablo, MT, the headquarters of the Flathead Reservation and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), and lies at the base of the Mission Mountains just south of Flathead Lake. With a 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio, SKC serves students from 53 North American tribes across 16 U.S. states and Canadian provinces.
The goal of this project is to serve with the food pantry at Salish Kootenai College (SKC) to expand educational programming surrounding healthy food access, as increased access to healthy food improves student persistence. This project aims to create food and health literacy opportunities for SKC students and their families through cooking demonstrations and food preparation workshops, while enhancing services provided by the on-campus food pantry. Additionally, the project seeks to increase student awareness of and access to campus and community food resources through targeted outreach and education, and to coordinate twice-monthly community engagement events that connect SKC students with local organizations and civic opportunities, prioritizing the involvement of Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) leaders. Finally, this project will build and maintain an SKC Partner Directory to strengthen campus-community connections.
The Food Access Coordinator will enhance services provided by the on-campus food pantry by coordinating weekly cooking demonstrations, expanding pantry hours through volunteer recruitment, leading at least one major food drive, and maintaining a data-tracking system to monitor pantry utilization and inventory. The member will increase student awareness of campus and community food resources by creating a visually accessible resource map of on-campus and local food assistance programs and coordinating at least two culturally and regionally specific food education events per semester. The member will plan and execute two community engagement events per month in conjunction with the pantry and the Center for Prevention and Wellness, incorporating structured reflection components and recruiting student organizations to co-host events. Additionally, the member will build and maintain an SKC Partner Directory by conducting a community mapping process during the first month of service, identifying local nonprofits, government agencies, businesses, and campuses interested in partnering with SKC students.
Montana Campus Network for Civic Engagement (MCNCE) serves as the intermediary for this project. MCNCE is a coalition of colleges and universities dedicated to fostering civic engagement, service learning, and volunteerism across Montana. Led by CEOs from participating institutions, MCNCE works to improve community life and educate students on civic and social responsibility, preparing them to be thoughtful, compassionate, and engaged leaders.
Ideal Canidate:
Our ideal candidate is someone who is passionate about teaching healthy living practices to SKC students and their families. This person will be on the frontline helping increase food and nutrition literacy. SKC values leadership, team work, and volunteer recruitment in their ideal candidate.
Benefits Include:
- $21,680 Living Allowance (11 Months) = $963.55 bi-weekly
- $7,395 Education Award
- Relocation Allowance
- Health Insurance
- Food assistance
- Trainings available through UM Office of Sustainability
- Personal & Medical Leave
- Eligible for Federal Loan Deferment
- University of Montana access & resources
- Access to regular professional trainings through MCNCE & University of Montana & National/Statewide partners
- Potential low-cost on-campus housing opputunity
- Free campus gym access
Professional Skills You Will Gain
- Relationship building with diverse student populations
- Peer support and active listening
- Food pantry/resource center operations
- SNAP training
- Hands on sustainability experience
- Event planning and coordination
- Educational Sessions/ Workshop facilitations
- Volunteer management and engagement
- Leadership development
- Campus and community partnership development
- Regularly leading service opportunities for students
- Civic reflection training and facilitation
- Taking ownership of projects
- and many more…