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Program Overview The Food & Society Fellows Program is a project that provides fellowships to professionals in food and agriculture from across North America, enabling them to use mass media channels to inform and shape the public agenda, in alignment with the goals of creating sustainable food systems that promote good health, vibrant communities, environmental stewardship, worker justice, and accessibility by all. Fellows come from many disciplines - chefs, farmers, nutritionists, activists, public health professionals, fishers, policy experts and academics. Together they form an interdisciplinary team in the fellowship, which works to: * use communication to influence the issues that reach the public agenda thereby creating policy changes at the personal, organizational and public policy level which advance sustainable food and farming systems; * increase the mass media communications on issues around sustainable food and farming systems that produce healthy, green, fair, and affordable foods; * raise the profile of the fellows as food system experts among media and policy makers; * build capacity and leadership in communications and policy work of food system, agriculture and health experts; * build capacity, leadership, and cohesiveness in a group of experts who collaborate and communicate using mass media channels to bring sustainable food system issues to the public agenda. The first fellowship class started September 2001. Classes have ranged in size from 8 ? 12 fellows with a total of 50 fellows having been selected. The most recent class started January 2007 and will continue through December 2008. The next class will start January 2008. During their fellowship, fellows generate communications in a variety of areas that impact the food system, agriculture and health. These communications are generated for a variety of audiences from consumers to policy makers. Fellows work both independently and cooperatively with other fellows to create a communications impact. Fellows can also contribute to policy discussion through participation in policy forums or other relevant work. Fellowships are part-time over two years. Fellows receive communications training and support to enhance their skills in using a variety of communication and media outlets. Each fellow formulates a communications plan, which creatively uses frames to impact cultural shifts realizing sustainability challenges and opportunities within our food and agriculture systems. Fellows also receive policy training and support to work on shifting policies to affect change toward sustainable food and farming systems. Fellows carry out their activities in their existing workplace or residence and are expected to gain release time from their current job duties for fellowship commitments.Administration The Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute in Columbia, Missouri, administers the fellowship. Fellows carry out their activities in their existing workplace or residence and are expected to gain release time from their current job duties. During their fellowship period, fellows are expected to generate a variety of communication pieces. Fellows can also emphasize the policy component of the fellowship through participation in policy forums or other relevant conferences (note: the fellowship does not provide travel support beyond fellowship training and organizational meetings). Fellows work both independently and cooperatively with other fellows to create a communications impact. Some communications activities are for a general consumer audience, but others are more targeted, including pieces aimed at youth educators, school administrators, and relevant policy makers.During their fellowship program, fellows can expect to have networking opportunities with other fellows in the program from across the country. Each fellow will have the opportunity to impact a broad range of other institutions and organizations through their communications activities. A stipend of $30,000 per year is provided to cover income support for approximately 50% time commitment to the fellowship program. For salaried individuals, the stipend amount will be paid to the individual's employer to compensate for partial salary and benefits. Exact time commitment is negotiable, but previous fellows have typically committed 50% of their time. Fellowship recipients are required to do a modest amount of travel in conjunction with the program, including participation in two multi-day training and orientation sessions. Travel expenses to these fellowship events are covered in full. No other travel is paid by the program. No separate funding is available for incidental office expenses.
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Class VI Information
The 2008-2009 Food & Society Policy Fellows have been selected. Read about the new Fellows here.
The 2007-2008 Food & Society Policy Fellows have been selected. Read about the new Fellows here.
Class V Information
The Food & Society Policy Fellows Program announces an additional Class V fellow. Read more here. For an electronic brochure on Class V, click here.