Market Specialist AmeriCorps VISTA

About the Role

Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph traces its roots to 1879, when Father Bernard Donnelly established Mount St. Bernard’s Orphanage in Kansas City. That act of faith, hope, and charity transformed many lives and laid the foundation for a tradition of compassionate care and social service that continues today. The organization empowers at-risk people to create a pathway out of poverty by alleviating immediate crises to create stability, then providing robust support to lift them to dignity and self-reliance. Catholic Charities serves a 27-county region with offices in the Kansas City metro area, St. Joseph, Missouri, and food pantries in Kansas City and Cameron, Missouri.

Mission: Helping people move to a better life through hope-filled care, services, and advocacy; calling all those of goodwill to join us.

Vision: By lifting people in need to the dignity of self-reliance, and encouraging others to help, our communities will become one human family.

Values:

• Hope/Faith
• Trust
• Commitment
• Collaboration

Program Overview: The Serve & Lift Food Market is a grocery-style food pantry designed to alleviate hunger while restoring dignity. The market allows individuals and families to select food that meets their cultural preferences, dietary needs, and household size, while reducing food waste and strengthening community well-being. The AmeriCorps VISTA member will serve as a capacity-building partner, helping the market strengthen systems, expand community partnerships, and improve data-driven decision making to address the root causes of food insecurity.

Responsibilities

• Program Development & Systems Building
  • Develop and document sustainable systems for market operations, volunteer engagement, and shopper flow in a self-choice model
  • Assist with creating or refining policies, procedures, and training materials for staff and volunteers
  • Support integration of trauma-informed and dignity-centered practices into market operations
• Data, Evaluation & Reporting
  • Support data collection, tracking, and analysis related to pantry usage, food distribution, and shopper outcomes
  • Assist with grant reporting and outcome measurement aligned with organizational and funder requirements
  • Help translate data into insights that inform program improvements and strategic planning
• Community Engagement & Partnerships
  • Identify and help cultivate partnerships with local organizations, schools, faith communities, and service providers
  • Support outreach strategies to increase awareness of the self-choice market and related resources
  • Assist with coordination of referrals to complementary services that address underlying causes of food insecurity
• Resource Development
  • Support development of in-kind donation systems and food sourcing strategies
  • Assist with researching funding opportunities and preparing supporting materials for grants or reports
  • Help document the impact and story of the Serve & Lift Market for communications and fund-raising purposes

Learning Outcomes

The VISTA will gain experience in:

• Hunger relief and food justice within a community-based nonprofit
• Capacity building and systems development