Food Access Fellowship
Objectives
- Practice a collective impact approach to address food insecurity
- Increase access to meals/food in safe and dignified spaces
- Increase connections to social and health services in meal spaces
- Increase nutrition of meals/food provided
Program Overview
The City of Philadelphia’s Food Access Fellowship program offers an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate-level students to contribute to fighting hunger in Philadelphia’s most vulnerable populations. The Food Access Fellows engage in capacity-building work with identified meal providers and facilitate collaboration with social service organizations. Fellows help to increase both the quantity and quality of emergency meals served in Philadelphia, as well as the interconnectedness of social service organizations. In the process, Fellows will gain valuable experience for careers in City government and the non-profit sector.
Please note that this is an unpaid position which occurs during the summer of 2019. Fellows must commit to working 20-25 hours per week from June through August, 2019. Some of these hours will be spent in the OHS office and some will be spent at meal sites or off-site meetings.
Responsibilities
- Organizing and engaging members of the meal provider network to build relationships and strengthening partnerships
- Working with meal providers on capacity building efforts to improve programs and services
- Collaborating with meal providers to design and implement needed processes
- Recruiting and leading volunteers at partner meal sites
- Collecting and analyzing data on emergency meal providers and guests
- Researching social service providers and connecting them with meal providers
- Facilitating meal guests’ connections to social services
- Researching potential sources of funding and other resources
- Other research and duties as assigned
Qualifications
Applicants must be an undergraduate or graduate student to be considered and should have a strong background in one of the following: social work, human services, community development, public administration, public policy, public health, urban planning, urban studies, statistics, political science, or nonprofit management. Strong written and verbal communication, problem solving skills, and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team are required.
Application and Interview Process
The Office of Homeless Services will contact you upon assessment of your cover letter and resume if you are selected for an interview. Applications will be accepted through Friday, May 30th, 2019. We accept applicants on a rolling basis and interviews take place as applications are received.
Please send a copy of your resume and cover letter to foodaccesscollab@gmail.com. Hard copy applications will not be accepted. The subject line of your email should read: [Last Name, First Name] Food Access Fellowship