The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is seeking a Farm-to-School Program Manager.  This is a full-time Washington Management Service (WMS) position based in Olympia, Washington. 

The Washington State Department of Agriculture’s mission is to serve the people of Washington State by developing and implementing sound public policies that support a viable agricultural industry and promote consumer and environmental protection.

This position will lead the new state Farm-to-School Program (created by SB 6483) to increase the purchase of Washington-grown foods by Washington schools thereby improving student nutrition and benefiting local farmers.  Washington-grown food includes food that is grown and packed or processed in Washington. This new program will have high visibility and active participation by several agencies and by agricultural, child nutrition and environmental interests.

This position will work with the state agencies, major stakeholder organizations, producers and distributors, and vendors to identify policy and procedural changes needed to facilitate increased procurement of Washington-grown foods by schools. The position will coordinate the agency’s implementation of these changes, and encourage adoption of these procedures by the school districts. The Program Manager will also work with appropriate agencies to access any funding available through the Federal Farm Bill. 

See full job description