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AmeriCorps VISTA--Outreach Coordinator

St. Luke's Episcopal Church
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EDIBLE HOPE KITCHEN AmeriCorps VISTA, outreach coordinator

AmeriCorps VISTA Member · Full-Time, Year-Long · Ballard, Seattle WA

Service Term: August 2026 – August 2027

How to Apply

Apply through AmeriCorps at the link below, then indicate your interest in Edible Hope Kitchen in the follow-up survey. Preference given to applications submitted before June 1, 2026. IF YOU FOUND THIS JOB DESCRIPTION ON HANDSHAKE, you must apply at the AmeriCorps link below. Submitting an application on handshake is not suitable.  

AmeriCorps listing: 

https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?fromSearch=true&id=105139

Questions? Email meals@stlukesseattle.org. If you don't hear from us within 48 hours of applying, reach out and we'll track down your application.


 

Edible Hope Kitchen (EHK) provides abundant, nutritious breakfast Monday–Friday to anyone who comes through our doors. Nearly all of the food we serve is recovered from local grocers and distributors and would otherwise be discarded. Last year, we served more than 43,000 hot meals to neighbors experiencing hunger, homelessness, and severe hardship. Beyond food, EHK is a lively, welcoming community hub where guests, volunteers, and staff connect and feel at home.


 

We're looking for an AmeriCorps VISTA Member to spend a year with us building the systems and community connections that will make EHK stronger for the next decade. This is a capacity-building role: roughly 90% of your time will go toward communications, volunteer recruitment and training, donor outreach, and expanding our network of partner organizations. The other 10% is direct service — you'll be in the kitchen, serving meals alongside our guests and volunteers, which is both grounding and essential context for everything else you do.


 

This is not a role for someone who wants to carry out a pre-built plan. The systems you'll build — a volunteer database, a communications strategy, a community resource map — largely don't exist yet. You'll have project ownership, mentorship from the Program Director and the Advisory Board, and the satisfaction of leaving something lasting behind.


 

You’ll report to the Program Director. You’ll have some limited obligations to Hunger Free America (HFA) and AmeriCorps, such as check-ins and professional development opportunities.

Why You May Want to Apply

  • Build something real: The volunteer, communications, and community partnership systems you design will outlast your service year and directly support EHK's ability to feed people for years to come.
  • Meaningful daily impact: You'll spend many mornings in the kitchen, building relationships with guests that ground and inform your capacity-building work.
  • Mentorship and community: Regular support, guidance, and feedback from experienced nonprofit leadership and a passionate, regular volunteer team.
  • Produce portfolio-worthy work: Your work product — newsletters, a community resource guide, a volunteer onboarding system, and social media presence — will be public showcases of your work.

About the Role

Your service year has several interconnected focus areas:

1. Communications & Storytelling (~25% of time)

EHK has 40 years of impact and a relatively small online footprint. You'll change that thoughtfully and ethically.

  • Conduct a communications audit and develop a 12-month content strategy
  • Grow Instagram from ~150 to 1,000 followers; maintain consistent Facebook and Instagram presence with 26+ posts
  • Produce 12 monthly newsletters, each including a volunteer profile, an original article, and photos
  • Develop ethical storytelling systems (photo release process, interview guidelines) and produce 10+ stories featuring volunteers, guests, and community partners
  • Implement email list growth strategies to add 100+ new subscribers and document processes for staff handoff

2. Volunteer Recruitment & Training (~35% time)

Our meals program runs on volunteers. You'll help recruit and train new volunteers, and upkeep  volunteer management systems.

  • Coordinate outreach to community groups (churches, service clubs, senior centers, offices/companies) and organize group volunteer days
  • Implement a volunteer tracking database (with contact info, emergency contacts, engagement history, and more) and document it for ongoing staff use
  • Develop volunteer recognition and retention strategies, including newsletter profiles and in-person appreciation
  • Welcome, orient, and support volunteers in kitchen best practices and guest services

3. Peer Learning & Organizational Improvement (~10% of time)

We want to learn from other organizations doing this well.

  • Identify and complete 6 site visits to regional hunger relief organizations
  • Document observations and conduct structured interviews about best practices in outreach, volunteer systems, and partnerships
  • Produce written visit summaries with transferable recommendations
  • Deliver a final learning brief with 5+ concrete, actionable recommendations for EHK leadership

4. Direct Service (~10% of time)

Many weekday mornings, you'll be in the kitchen — serving food, welcoming guests, supporting volunteers, and building the relationships that make everything else possible.

  • Support daily breakfast service and kitchen operations
  • Build genuine relationships with guests; connect people with social workers, case managers, and partner organizations when appropriate
  • Uphold EHK procedures that ensure a welcoming, dignified, and safe environment
  • Support the director, the community manager, and experienced volunteers in de-escalating conflict calmly and keeping the space safe for everyone

5. Community Network Expansion & Referrals (~15% of time)

Food insecurity doesn't exist in isolation. You'll help connect our guests to the broader ecosystem of support services. This work is lower priority than the objectives above and will only be pursued once core systems are stable. However, for the right person, it represents some of the most interesting and high-impact work of the year.

  • Map 25+ local service organizations (housing, healthcare, SNAP enrollment/support, job training, mental health) and develop a community resource guide for staff, volunteers, and guests
  • Initiate outreach to potential partner organizations 
  • Organize and facilitate community "teach-ins" connecting EHK guests and volunteers with available resources
  • Develop and pilot referral processes
  • Produce a Community Services Network Toolkit for use after your service term ends

Who Will Thrive in This Role

If you have some but not all of these qualities, we still encourage you to apply. Humility and the willingness to learn are the most important things at a small, high-output organization like ours. 

We're looking for someone who:

  • Has experience de-escalating conflict, mediating disagreements, and keeping their personal peace in a busy, unpredictable environment
  • Treats all people — guests, volunteers, staff, partners — with dignity and genuine warmth
  • Is comfortable with creative ambiguity: you'll be building things that don't yet exist, without a detailed roadmap
  • Can balance structured daily responsibilities with self-directed, longer-horizon projects
  • Is thoughtful about ethics, representation, and consent — especially when telling other people's stories
  • Cares about food access, hunger relief, and what it takes to sustain community-based organizations
  • Is organized and reliable
  • Has interest or experience in nonprofit communications, community organizing, or social services

Logistics

  • Location: Ballard neighborhood, Seattle, WA
  • Term: August 11, 2026 – August 10, 2027
  • Hours: Full-time, ~40 hours/week. Hours are flexible. We open to the public from 8 AM - 10 AM, so on days when you’re interviewing guests, training volunteers, or anything else that is directly connected to our meals, you will be on site by 8 AM (~75% of days).
  • Compensation: $1,155.14 Bi-weekly AmeriCorps VISTA living allowance + $5,815 end-of-service education award or $1,500 cash stipend. See this resource for more details of benefits.
  • Housing: EHK has a strong community of supporters and will assist in identifying affordable or below-market-rate housing where possible (not guaranteed; earlier commitment helps).
  • Transportation: EHK is accessible by public transit, and VISTA will get subsidized bus passes.

Requirements

  • Ability to climb stairs and lift up to 20 lbs
  • Successful completion of a background check
  • Washington State Food Handler's Certification (assistance provided; can be completed after start)
  • De-escalation training (assistance provided; can be completed after start)
  • Safe-Church, Safe-Communities Training (online modules; can be completed after start)
  • AmeriCorps VISTA eligibility (US citizenship or permanent resident status; must be 18+)

How to Apply

Apply through AmeriCorps at the link below, then indicate your interest in Edible Hope Kitchen in the follow-up survey. Preference given to applications submitted before June 1. IF YOU FOUND THIS JOB DESCRIPTION ON HANDSHAKE, you must apply at the AmeriCorps link below. Submitting an application on handshake is not suitable.  

AmeriCorps listing: 

https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?fromSearch=true&id=105139

Questions? Email meals@stlukesseattle.org. If you don't hear from us within 48 hours of applying, reach out and we'll track down your application.

EHK is a program of St. Luke's Episcopal Church and serves all guests regardless of faith background. There is no religious component to our feeding service. All EHK staff are secular.