Arlington, Virginia, United States
After earning her degree in Food Studies and Sustainability at Syracuse University in 2025, life-long Arlingtonian Laura Jayne has found her way back to serve as the Program Manager for Real Food for Kids. The belief that everybody deserves good food is at the core of her work whether that’s directing the Syracuse University chapter of the Food Recovery Network or advocating for better policy with the Congressional Hunger Center. Through her many roles, Laura has always utilized community collaboration for effective problem solving. In her current role, Laura is strengthening programs that dismantle the barriers to nutritious foods imposed on families in our region. She creates and shares resources that empower families in Arlington, VA to apply for SNAP benefits. She is helping to execute the annual Culinary Challenge that allows DMV students to showcase their ideal school meals. As well, she develops content for Fresh Food Explorers—a pre-school program that encourages excitement for veggies! Reliable access to healthy food is a human right. If you agree, let’s connect!
Coordinate SNAP outreach events to inform community members on program eligibility and the application process Create and publish SNAP Ambassador training and SNAP info webpage for those seeking plain-language support in connecting families with SNAP benefits Website design and social media promotion across Real Food for Kids and fundraising projects Administrative support and materials publication for Fresh Food Explorers-nutriton education program for Pre-K students in 12 classrooms across DMV
Assist in facilitating the meeting of the Food as Medicine Working Group Formulate strategy for and plan evaluation of the working group. Support in the development, promotion, and execution of Youth Food Literacy Program(s) Create funder pitch for kitchen literacy project with intended audience of foundation organizations
-Be knowledgeable of the many academic, cultural, and professional offerings across the university to be shared with prospective families and provide clarity when requested. -Remain conscious of the accessibility of tour routes and make accommodations when necessary -Train incoming staff by demonstrating appropriate content and direction for their tours
Select and organize content for 2024 End Hunger Challenge online course to inform participants of root causes and proven solutions to food insecurity in the US Attend Gen Z Hunger Summit and collaborate to meet with representatives and request their support on the Food Date Labeling Act on Capitol Hill Use RStudio to visualize patterns in online course user engagement and budgetary impact of 3 Congressional Hunger Center Fellowships Publish and present reports including aforementioned visualizations which included observations on data trends and variations Use NVivo to track and visualize sentiment in comments left on previous End Hunger Challenge course
-Design invitations and newsletters for opportunities to strengthen our patrons' culinary and nutritional literacy -Offer consultation on food safety and quality assurance for upcoming in-house events -Support grocery store operations like packaging produce for compost & stocking shelves -Volunteer to apply the organic farming methods used at our partner organization Brady Farm