Sustainable Food Systems Leadership Fellowship

The Nourish West Virginia Initiative at the West Virginia University Institute for Community & Rural Health (WVU ICRH) is offering a Sustainable Food System Fellowship designed for WVU undergraduate and graduate students who are currently involved or have participated in at least one of the following programs; WV Health Sciences & Technology Academy (HSTA), Project R.E.A.C.H. (Rural Education Alliance for Community Health), Rural Health Interest Group (RHIG), Rural Undergraduate Shadowing in Healthcare (RUSH), Pipeline Rural Education Program (PREP), or WV Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Rural Community Health Scholars Program.

Objective

The Sustainable Food System Fellowship is a 9-month leadership program that aims to increase opportunities for future food system leaders to build their skills, capacity and networks through a series of community design labs on participatory engagement and human-centered design approaches, monthly learning sessions with other food system leaders, and individualized technical assistance.

Fellows will work with the Nourish West Virginia team at the WVU Institute for Community & Rural Health to tackle community-identified food system challenges in urban and rural communities, focusing on building capacity for shared-use kitchens. Participants will engage in community-engaged research, and advance participatory research and publicly engaged scholarship, applying and learning around the United States Department of Agriculture, Food System Core Competencies shown below:

  1. Community Capacity
  2. Food Systems
  3. Equity
  4. Government and Policy
  5. Natural and Built Environment
  6. Economy and Business Development
  7. Public Health and Wellness
  8. Leadership
  9. Evaluation

Who Should Apply?

The fellowship is a good fit for students who are committed to:

  • Working to develop resilient and equitable local food systems
  • Community leadership, engagement and the leadership of rural communities
  • Food justice, nutrition justice, racial equity and social transformation
  • Developing skills to measure impact and success of local food systems
  • Developing collaborative leadership skills

Eligibility

Current WVU undergraduate and graduate students with GPA ≥ 3.5 who are currently involved or have participated in at least one of the following programs; WV HSTA , Project R.E.A.C.H. (Rural Education Alliance for Community Health), Rural Health Interest Group (RHIG), Rural Undergraduate Shadowing in Healthcare (RUSH), Pipeline Rural Education Program (PREP), or WV Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Rural Community Health Scholars Program. Students enrolled in a related WVU MS or PhD program (agriculture and/or health-related) and must have approval from their advisor.

Compensation

The fellowship is for 9 months and is a part-time position available for $10/hour (undergraduate students) $18/hour (graduate students) for 1,040 hours. Students are not able to work more than 28 hours a week during regular semesters.

Application requirements

  1. Current resume
  2. Unofficial academic transcript
  3. Professional reference
  4. Narrative statement (less than 500 words)
    1. How your interest in agriculture and health developed
    2. Goals you would like to accomplish during the fellowship?
    3. Your long-term career objectives

Application Form

The opportunity will be posted on handshake, and all applications must be submitted using the Qualtrics form. A selection committee of WVU ICRH staff and community partners will review all applications.

Timeline

  • Applications open: January 6, 2025, Applications close: February 7, 2025
  • Selection on/by: February 21, 2025 Fellowship starts March 24, 2025

For questions or additional information contact:

  • Megan Govindan, PhD, MPH, MS, RDN, LDN, Research Scientist, WVU Institute for Community & Rural Health

E-mail Here

This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.