AmeriCorps VISTA – Local Food Systems Coordinator- Havre

Overview

Position Type: VISTA
Service Commitment:
April 6, 2026 – April 5, 2027
Final Final date to receive applications:
March 6, 2026

Car Required? Recommended
Driver’s License Required? Yes

Opportunity Link, a non profit organization based out of Havre, MT, is committed to assisting 11 counties and 3 reservations and to helping communities in Northcentral Montana achieve and sustain independence, prosperity and a better way of life. Opportunity Link aims to break down historically isolated silos of service and act as a resource broker between diverse communities, races, incomes and governments.

The organization contributes big-picture strategic thinking along with ground-level achievements, and serves as a collaborator, innovator and facilitator. The project will work in collaboration with Aaniih Nakoda College.

The goal of this project is to increase the capacity of Native food growers, producers, and traditional food systems of the Rocky Boy and Fort Belknap communities. The project aims to increase the viability of value-added food products as an economic opportunity for low income individuals. The VISTA member will assess barriers that prevent food producers from commercializing their products and will develop a series of workshops to educate community members about producing local and traditional food products.

After orientation, the member will establish communication with project partners and identify their role in the project. Community partners include local nonprofits, Montana State University Northern departments, staff at Aaniiih Nakoda College, Stone Child College, and agricultural businesses. The member will create a series of culturally appropriate workshops to promote growing and producing local and traditional foods throughout the Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy Reservations.

This will include assembling training modules to convey best practices based on research and identified needs. The member will work with community partners to increase the capacity of food producing operations and create an environment in which these activities can provide a stable source of income for local farmers. The member will also work to raise awareness of food production as an economic opportunity in the broader community through an awareness campaign.

Montana Campus Network for Civic Engagement (MCNCE) serves as the intermediary for this project. MCNCE is a CEO-led coalition of colleges and universities that support civic engagement, service learning, and volunteerism across the state. Each year we place cohorts of full-time, part-time, and summer Ameri Corps members with schools, colleges, nonprofits, and government agencies in Montana. The Ameri Corps projects we facilitate aim to increase educational equity, break down barriers between higher education and community organizations, and address the root causes of poverty in communities across the state.