16th Class, 2009-2010
Field Placement: Manna Inc. (Nashville, TN)
Sarah worked to build partnerships with organizations serving immigrant and refugee communities to increase participation in the Food Stamp program. She conducted outreach at community events and through live radio shows in English and Spanish, researched best practices for outreach, and developed a Food Stamp Outreach Resource Guide specific to three Tennessee counties. She distributed the guide to service providers with the goal of increasing outreach and building stronger networks among the organizations.
Hunger Free Community Report:
The Food Stamp Outreach Resource Guide equips Tennessee service providers with the knowledge and materials to do effective SNAP outreach in their communities and connects local agencies with one another to facilitate continued sharing of updated information and best practices.
Policy Placement: National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (Washington, DC)
Sarah co-wrote a sequel to Feeding Intolerance, a report that draws attention to the criminalization of sharing food with people experiencing homelessness and constructive alternatives to food sharing restrictions. She also assisted with a report on federal surplus property programs. She surveyed organizations that have gone through the process, compiled success stories and challenges involved in applying, and shared her findings with partner organizations via webinar with the goal of encouraging more organizations to acquire surplus property to assist homeless persons.
Pre-Fellowship Education and Experience:
Originally from Midland, Michigan, Sarah attended Calvin College, spending a semester in Honduras before graduating in 2006 with a degree in elementary education and Spanish. Since college, she has taught second grade at San Jeronimo Bilingual School in Honduras and served an AmeriCorps term working for National Student Partnerships in Evanston, Illinois. In this capacity she worked with the Alliance to End Homelessness, collaborated with Northwestern University students to plan hunger and homelessness events, supervised a volunteer income tax assistance site, and connected low-income individuals to resources leading to economic independence.