Connecticut

Our Host Organization

Our host in Connecticut is the University of Connecticut Extension. Over 100 UConn Extension specialists work in communities across Connecticut as educators, problem solvers, catalysts, collaborators and stewards. Our eight regional Extension Centers, the Sea Grant program at Avery Point, the 4-H Education Center at Auerfarm, the Home and Garden Education Center and the UConn Extension office in Storrs all collaborate to fulfill our land grant university’s third mission of outreach and public engagement.

UConn Extension’s off campus classrooms include: high-tech greenhouses, coastal estuaries, elementary school gardens, community centers for high risk teens and municipal town halls. We use an interdisciplinary approach and take knowledge directly to the public. UConn Extension enhances small businesses, the economic and physical well-being of families and offers opportunities to improve the decision-making capacity of community leaders. The FoodCorps Connecticut program is coordinated by the Sustainable Food System Educator of UConn Extension out of the Tolland County Extension office in Vernon, CT.

Why Serve In Connecticut?

Connecticut boasts a wide range of cultural and environmental opportunities, from the Coventry Farmer’s Market (rated one of the top ten things to do in New England by the Boston Globe), to the lush forested mountains of the Taconic range in the west, and beautiful ocean coastline to the east. Active farmland preservation efforts mean there is a steady and growing community of producers helping the landscape reflect New England’s heritage. Easy access to Boston, New Haven, and New York City yields virtually endless urban activities.

Connecticut is one of the smaller states FoodCorps is currently serving, but one with a lot of need.  Because of our geographic boundaries, our twelve service members have the unique opportunity to collaborate frequently in-person, and create powerful relationships with a wide variety of organizations and individuals that make up the close-working networks addressing food systems change across the state and regionally. Serving in Connecticut means you are part of a close-knit FoodCorps team, enjoy ample opportunity for a wide range of professional development, and have the chance to make a huge impact in a state with the second highest income disparity in the nation.