FOLLOW US
Call for The Community Food Systems Fellowship 2026 is Open Now !!!
The Community Food Systems Fellowship is an 18-month leadership program that aims to increase opportunities for diverse local 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 systems leaders and individualized technical assistance. Emerging leaders who are committed to food justice and equity should consider the Community Food Systems Fellowship. The fellowship is an opportunity to contribute to developing a roadmap for community-powered food systems and to learn how to better capture impact. The Fellowship is a good fit for those who are committed to:
- working to develop resilient and equitable local food systems
- community leadership, engagement, and the leadership of caregivers and families
- food justice, nutrition justice, racial equity and social transformation
- developing skills to measuring impact and success of local food systems
They actively seek to spotlight community-powered food systems and inform and advance community leadership in local food systems. They are committed to supporting self determination of communities of color and the advancement of diverse community leaders. They encourage prospective fellows committed to justice and equity and improving local food systems to promote child, family and community wellness to apply. They invite stakeholders representing diverse voices across the food system (e.g. agriculture, labor and food chain workers, food service, public health, environmental justice, economy and entrepreneurship, education, early care and education, immigration and arts, culture) to apply.
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The fellowship will involve a series of interactive virtual meetings and peer learning sessions to support their local efforts and refine a roadmap of collective actions to advance community powered food systems centered on healing, resiliency and parent and caregiver leadership. Community Fellows will receive a $2,500 stipend to honor time for participating in fellowship meetings and activities, including participation and presentations at Vital Village’s annual National Community Leadership Summit. Fellows also have the ability to apply for $2,500 of innovation pilot project funds, which would be dispersed after the first 12-month of the fellowship program, after a proposal development and action planning period that will take place in the first half of the program.
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- Youth Opportunities: https://m.me/j/AbZTmgEzD1UchDte/
2. Fully Funded Conferences: https://m.me/j/AbZTfhFTiPCnXf2D/
3. Full Scholarships: https://m.me/j/AbbrjbkOMM6I68Cs/
4. Paid Internships/Jobs: https://m.me/j/AbaAskb6jFFnRser/
5. Circle: https://m.me/j/AbY0vVKSPJULUnE4/
The Community Food Systems Fellowship is made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to advance the vision that every child, regardless of race/ethnicity or family income, achieves equitable health, development, and education outcomes and mindsets, social and structural conditions, and systems contribute to these outcomes. Vital Village Networks at Boston Medical Center approaches achieving a culture of health by ensuring effective implementation of community-based strategies, uplifting strengths-based narratives and fostering sustainable community engagement. They can more effectively identify root causes,mobilize neighborhood resources and scale community identified solutions through comprehensive cross-sector partnerships between residents, nontraditional partners and entities that provide services or make decisions on behalf of children of color and families.
Benefits
- Community Fellows will receive a $2,500 stipend to honor time for participating in fellowship
meetings and activities, including participation and presentations at Vital Village’s annual
National Community Leadership Summit. - Fellows also have the ability to apply for $2,500 of innovation pilot project funds, which would be dispersed after the first 12-month of the fellowship program.
- Build meaningful relationships, foster connections and co-create a peer learning space
with other food systems leaders across the country and Gain knowledge, skills and resources in telling the story of your local food systems . - Strengthen ability to use healing-centered, trauma-informed and resilience frameworks
to advance local food systems work and Build capacity to leverage data to tell the story of your work and impact, including developing and implementing a participatory research plan.
Eligibilities
- The prospective fellow must be based in the United States or one of the U.S. territories.
- The fellow must have an established partnership with a nonprofit organization, coalition, network, group, cooperative, business, or institution that has a strategic focus on local food systems.
- The applicant should be an emerging leader committed to food justice and equity.
- Applicants must provide at least one letter of recommendation.
Application Process
- To start or resume your application, click on the “Apply Now” button. You will be asked to create a profile with a log in and password. Please save this information to log in and resume your application.
- As a part of your application, you must provide at least one letter of recommendation. Up to three letters of recommendation may be submitted.
- If written applications are not accessible for you, you can submit pre-recorded video or audio responses through the online application portal, or you can schedule an oral intake application session.
Application Deadline: November 10, 2025 (4 Days Remaining)
Apply nowOfficial link
