Food-Inspired Resilience & Equity Internship
Community-based food organizations and students work together on local food, community, and equity work.
Building capacity for local food-based organizations and providing skill-building opportunities for student interns.
Hosted by the North Carolina Local Food Council (NCLFC), Community Food Strategies, and the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) the Food-Inspired Resilience & Equity (FIRE) program hosts student and recent graduate interns during the academic year to support their host site’s community and equity work. Throughout the year, interns are paid to assist and manage various projects, including research, meeting facilitation, logistical support, and communications, as well as other tasks that align with the host’s needs and the intern’s interests.
Local food-based organizations (including local food councils and coalitions) have a unique role in local food systems in that they are cross-sector organizations; consequently, they are often the primary entity in communities that look across the food system at systemic causes of health disparities and other root cause issues of our food system. Despite high local buy-in and support, local food-based organizations are challenged by not having formal funding from state and local governments, and the majority do not include paid staff. The FIRE internship program exists to increase local food-based organizations capacity by offering and providing mentorship through paid internships to support their day-to-day operations and strategic initiatives. Moreover, interns are supported in their professional development by both their local food-based organization hosts and program coordinators, offering high-quality, intensive skills training for college students. The impact of increasing the capacity of the local food-based organizations through an intern is that the people working within local food systems are much more capable and resourced to analyze and respond to health disparities and inequities within the food system that impact residents in North Carolina.
The purpose of this program is to expand the capacity of local food-based organizations, that are dedicated to promoting more resilient and equitable food systems, across the state by pairing them with paid college student interns. We pair unique student skill sets (such as social media, marketing, and experience with online platforms) to match the needs of host local food organizations. In addition, we cover the salary of the student interns and program logistics, such as recruiting and hiring. In return host sites provide impactful experiences and hands-on skill building related to food systems and equity work for college students.
“This program gave me the opportunity to stand out as a storyteller in the food system and to develop my public speaking and community involvement work. I also learned a lot about better understanding the needs of people who face food insecurity and effective ways to make food access more equitable.”
– Hope Ostane-Baucom, Char-Meck Food Policy Council 2023 – 2024 Intern
“Long-term, this internship is creating a stronger link between WCU and WNC Farm to Table and is including a focus on food insecurity issues on campus.”
— Lisa McBride, WNC Farm to Table 2023 – 2024 Host Site
“I have gained a comprehensive understanding of food systems and health equity through interdisciplinary work and collaboration with professionals. My skills in research, content creation, data collection, and communication have improved. I have a deepened perspective on how community based non-profit work can make positive change in public health nutrition.”
— Noah Ashenafi, CAFN 2022 – 2023 Intern
“The internship has increased public visibility of our work, improved existing relationships and built new partnerships, and increased the number of food access points. Our current local food system and its ability to adapt to the changing needs of the community is stronger and more flexible."
— Rutherford County Food Council 2022 – 2023 Host Site
More About This Program
Questions?
Contact alstone3@ncsu.edu