Food Educator
Reports to: Program Director, Associate Program Director, or Program Coordinator (depending)
Employment Status: Part-time/Non-Exempt
Location: Openings in Rio Arriba County, Las Vegas and Santa Fe areas, New Mexico
Impact of this Role
Food Educators are at the heart of Cooking with Kids’ mission to educate and inspire children and families to make healthy food choices through hands-on learning with nutritious, affordable foods. The Educator’s primary responsibility is to organize, schedule, and deliver Cooking with Kids program activities in schools and communities throughout Northern New Mexico.
Using the Cooking with Kids curriculum, Food Educators lead classroom-based cooking lessons, monthly cafeteria tastings that help students build food skills, confidence, and a willingness to try healthy foods. Additional opportunities may include afterschool, family, and community engagement activities. At schools with active garden programs, Educators may also support garden-to-kitchen learning experiences that complement Cooking with Kids’ core programming.
This position works closely with the Program Leadership Team, fellow Educators, and school staff to ensure high-quality program delivery. While Educators work independently at school sites, they are part of a collaborative team culture that includes county-based teams, ongoing professional development, mentorship, and regular sharing of ideas, tools, and best practices.
What you will Lead and Support (Role & Responsibilities)
Program Delivery
- Serve as the primary Cooking with Kids Food Educator for assigned school site(s), working closely with school staff throughout the school year.
- Schedule and deliver Cooking with Kids programming in coordination with teachers, administrators, and cafeteria staff.
- Facilitate classroom-based cooking and nutrition education lessons using the Cooking with Kids curriculum. The number of classrooms served varies by school site and educator availability and will be discussed prior to school assignments.
- Lead monthly cafeteria tastings, using Cooking with Kids’ Nuevo Thursday approach to offer tasty fruits, vegetables, and other dishes for students to sample.
- Support family engagement, afterschool, community, and garden-to-kitchen activities as available.
School and Community Partnerships
- Build positive relationships with students, teachers, administrators, cafeteria staff, families, and community partners.
- Manage the CWK calendar for assigned school sites, scheduling cooking units with classroom teachers, and keeping school administrators and CWK program leadership updated.
Team Collaboration and Professional Growth
- Participate in monthly staff meetings, and regular in-person or virtual Educator and all-team training, and seek additional opportunities for professional development.
- Maintain regular communication with program leadership and partner Educators.
- Contribute ideas, experiences, and best practices as part of a collaborative team culture.
Program Operations
- Rigorously follow all food safety, sanitation, and risk management procedures. Maintain active Food Handlers certification.
- Transport program supplies and food as needed, from the central food hubs in each county to the school sites.
- Complete required reporting, timesheets, purchasing records, and program reports in a timely manner.
- Adhere to all organizational and school site policies and procedures.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Additional opportunities may include supporting educator training, curriculum development, communications, garden initiatives, and other special projects.
Work Rhythm & Compensation
Employment Status
This is a non-exempt, hourly position. Educators are assigned to one or more schools and work directly with teachers and school staff to schedule program activities throughout the school year. Most classroom lessons are approximately two hours in length, and Educators typically facilitate one to two lessons per day, depending on school schedules and educator availability.
Program activities generally occur between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on school days, though some preparation, cleanup, meetings, trainings, and special events may require earlier or later hours. Total hours vary based on school assignments and program needs.
Compensation & Benefits
The hourly pay for this position is $22/hour starting wage and generally increases to $23/hour after a three-month probationary period. New Educator hires will also receive a one‑time $250 signing bonus following successful completion of their 3‑month probationary period.
The Strengths You Bring
Required Skills
This Role May Be a Great Fit If You:
- Love working with children and helping them build confidence through hands-on learning.
- Are passionate about healthy food, nutrition, education, and community well-being.
- Enjoy teaching, facilitating groups, and creating positive, engaging learning environments.
- Build strong relationships across diverse communities and communicate effectively with students, families, teachers, and community partners.
- Work well independently while also contributing to a collaborative team.
- Are organized, dependable, and adaptable.
- Enjoy learning, sharing ideas, and growing professionally.
- Want to make a meaningful impact in schools and communities.
- Bring bilingual English-Spanish and/or English-Tewa language skills (preferred).
Education, Experience, and other Requirements
- High school diploma or equivalent required; bachelor's degree in education, nutrition, public health, child development, agriculture, or a related field preferred.
- At least two years of experience working with children, youth, schools, families, or community-based programs required.
- Bilingual Spanish-English and/or Tewa-English language skills preferred.
- Valid driver's license and reliable transportation required.
- Basic computer skills required.
- Successful completion of a background check is required prior to employment. Employees must meet and maintain all Cooking with Kids and partner school district requirements, clearances, trainings, and compliance standards as a condition of continued employment.
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- While performing the duties of this job, the employee will regularly sit, walk, and stand, as well as lift 25 – 40 pound boxes
The information contained in this job description is for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (A.D.A.) and is not an exhaustive list of the duties performed for this position. The individual currently holding this position performs additional duties, and additional duties may be assigned in coordination with the Executive Director.
Cooking with Kids is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Cooking with Kids does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
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