STU_CES_Food_Systems_Internship

Food Systems Internship

In the spring semester of 2024, the Center for Environment and Society (CES) hosted an intern focused on researching and expanding food recovery and composting efforts at Washington College and within the wider community.  This intern progressed composting in the dining hall and supported the emerging Kent County Food Council. Efforts to support these two initiatives will now be covered by two internships.

CES is committed to supporting coordination of the Kent County Food Council program including stakeholder engagement, meeting coordination, and best practice research. The intern will actively participate in this coordination, providing support to Laura Chamberlin, Associate Director of Civic Engagement. The intern will also research and document current activities in food recovery, food production, food distribution, and food insecurity. The intern will also have the opportunity to support the Food Council in two potential initiatives – 1) understanding farmer needs from Food Council and 2) creating a system to better facilitate gleaning farms with distribution to pantries. The intern may also support the activities and research of the to-be-hired Sustainable Food Systems Director.  

Food Systems Internship responsibilities:

• Attend meetings with external partners in-person (off campus and virtual).
• Prepare materials, notes, and action items from monthly Food Council meetings.
• Research and document current community activities in food recovery, food production, food distribution, and resolving access to food for under-served communities. Research should be both local and regional.
• Conduct qualitative interviews of farmers to understand their potential needs in marketing, shared distribution and storage, shared space for value-added production, gleaning excess food, and other potential outcomes of Food Council collaboration.
• Create a volunteer program for gleaning farms and distributing to pantries.
• Assist the Sustainable Food Systems Director as needed with activities and research.

Please submit a cover letter and resume that describes your strengths, interests, and experiences. The same letter can be used for all internships housed within the Center for Environment and Society as long as it mentions each internship that you are interested in and how it aligns with your academic interests and goals.

• Current full-time students are eligible to apply.
• Motivation to work independently and meet deadlines.
• Resourceful, self-motivated, enthusiastic team player.
• Strong interest in sustainability, food system management, food resilience, policy, and agriculture.
• Experience in social sciences, agriculture, communication, or business is preferred but not required.

Additional Info

• Intern will be paid $15/hour for approximately 10 hours/week.
• This internship is housed within the Center for Environment and Society.
• Work will be conducted at Semans-Griswold Environmental Hall with occasional remote or off-campus work.