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 North Carolina State University (NC State) Department of Agricultural and Human 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 held March 24, 2026 at the University Club and the CALS Celebration of Excellence held April 22, 2026 at the StateView Hotel.
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.
Bloom also 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.
Additionally, on April 28, 2026, Bloom received the 2026 Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences Faculty Award. This award reflect the AHS department’s focus on building resilient futures through preparing the next generation of leaders, advancing education, research, and Extension, and supporting the well-being of communities across North Carolina and beyond. Bloom’s was recognized for her efforts to advance these priorities through impact, innovation, and community engagement.
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 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.
Bloom also leads a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SSARE) grant, coordinating among our CEFS Farm to Institution programs (Farm to Early Care and Education, Farm to School, Farm to University, and Farm to Senior Services), and providing leadership to a newly forming NC Farm to Institution Network to help coordinate this work across the state.
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.
Hear from Bloom as she describes the Extension Master Food Volunteer Program. Volunteers are trained by Cooperative Extension Family and Consumer Science agents in the areas of cooking, nutrition, food safety, and local food so that they can support community-based programs.