On March 24, 2026, Dara Bloom, assistant director of community based food systems for the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) and associate professor and local foods Extension specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences, North Carolina State University (NC State) College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, received three awards from NC State’s Academy of Outstanding Faculty in Extension and Engagement (AOFEE) and the Office of Outreach & Engagement during the Engaged University Awards celebration at the University Club.
Bloom was selected by Dean Fox and her peers to receive these three awards, including NC State’s top individual community engaged scholarship award, the 2026 Alumni Outstanding Engagement Scholarship Award. To earn this distinction, she was first nominated for the 2026 Outstanding Extension Award by Dean Fox and her colleagues in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. This accolade honors the relevance and impact of Bloom’s work. This award requires nominee selection at the College level and the subsequent consensus of the AOFEE Executive Council.
Bloom’s peers in the Executive Council also enthusiastically voted to induct her into the Academy of Outstanding Faculty in Extension and Engagement. The qualifications for this recognition are stringent and competitive. Beginning in Fall 2026, Bloom was asked to serve a three-year term on the AOFEE Executive Council.
Additionally, Bloom received the 2026 Alumni Outstanding Engagement Scholarship Award. The criteria for this award, funded by the Alumni Association, includes the degree with which the candidates’ portfolio is consistent with the scholarship of engagement definition in the Provosts’ Definitions of Scholarship.
In 2020, Bloom was named CEFS assistant director of community based food systems. She has been involved with several research projects and initiatives at CEFS since 2013, including the NC Farm to Early Care and Education program, where she provides support and training to help child care centers procure local food. At NC State, Bloom conducts social science research and outreach about farming and the food systems, with a focus on engaging and educating consumers. She has developed training materials to teach Cooperative Extension Agents about local food systems, primarily through a collaboration that led to an online certificate program. Bloom works closely with Family and Consumer Science (FCS) Agents, and led an interdisciplinary team of Extension Specialists and Agents to develop the Extension Master Food Volunteer (EMFV) Program. This program trains volunteers to support FCS programs, including a module about the food system to help volunteers answer consumers’ food-related questions. Read more about her work from the NC State Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences.
Bloom is an invaluable team player and a recognized mentor with broad community-based food systems expertise and demonstrated success. We are proud to work with Bloom and congratulate her on these recognitions of her community-engaged scholarship.