Faculty mentor: Dara Bloom
Graduate student or Postdoc mentor: N/A
Lab Name: NC Extension Master Food Volunteer (EMFV) Research
Introduction and Proposal: Join Dr. Dara Bloom and a team of research and extension specialists to study the NC Extension Master Food Volunteer (EMFV) program. The EMFV program engages residents in food and nutrition programming in their community and trains volunteers to broaden the reach of NC Cooperative Extension. EMFVs work closely with their Family & Consumer Sciences (FCS) Agent, to expand and build upon programs that serve families at risk of food insecurity, teach how to cook nutritious, low cost meals at home, and increase the availability of local foods. Dr. Bloom led the development of the EMFV program, and is currently the program director, in addition to her role as Associate Professor, Local Foods Extension Specialist, and Assistant Director of CEFS. The research team also consists of Morgan Marshall, EMFV program manager, Dr. Harriett Edwards, Professor and Volunteerism Specialist, and Hannah Dankbar, Local Food Program Manager for NC State Extension. Our research question revolves around asking what factors lead to successful program implementation, and what barriers need to be addressed. We will provide the student with training and support in qualitative methods, so that they can conduct and analyze interviews with FCS agents and focus groups with EMFV volunteers. The research team will share their expertise with the student about qualitative methods, as well as about Extension programming and volunteerism, and the results of the research will have a direct impact on how the EMFV program is implemented across the state.
Typical work and research environment: The student will meet regularly with members of the research team, both virtually and in-person, with the expectation that the interviews and focus groups will be conducted remotely.
