What is the BBFP Food Systems Fellowship?

The Black Belt Food Project Fellowship Program is an intensive one-year leadership development program offered through our nonprofit organization to assist, encourage and inspire social entrepreneurs and system builders as they work to create positive impacts in society through their food-based community initiatives. 

This is not a job. The Fellowship is a volunteer educational opportunity* for those seeking real, hands-on engaging community focused work in a rural community.

Food systems in relation to this program focuses on implementing programs that build engagement with our local food systems (farmers and producers utilizing practices that embrace sustainable, future forward farming practices and food related techniques) by connecting residents to their efforts all while educating our community of better food consumption practices through an exploration of food studies. 

*Please read the section below regarding our housing and educational assistance as our team does provide financial support to help offset the cost of this experience.

History of this program

The 2023 fellowship will serve as the first year for this program. With that being said, it is important that applicants understand that our organization is learning from this experience as we move forward throughout the year. While we have worked to design a program that is engaging and educational for our fellows, a few adjustments may be needed as we discover what works and what doesn’t work for our team and our Fellows. We are asking first year Fellows to be as open-minded and understanding as possible as we navigate this program together.  Flexibility is vital in this Fellowship position. To be completely transparent, this first year is an educational experience for our team as well. We may not have all the answers right away, and we want all potential Fellows to be aware of the uncertainties that exist with this very new program.

Who can apply?

Our team has built this program with hopes of creating an educational opportunity that is accessible to most interested individuals. Ideal candidates must meet some of the following requirements. Please note that some regulations must be met by all interested applicants and that no exceptions will be made. These regulations are identified accordingly below:

• All applicants must be 21 years of age or older (required)

• Must have their own mode of transportation (a vehicle) as small trips take place throughout the fellowship (required)

• Experience with a food focused organization or business is preferred, but not required. This includes restaurants, farms, farmers markets, soup kitchens, food banks, and so forth.

• An interest in food based studies or culinary work is highly encouraged.

• Strong writing and communication skills and some experience with basic design work (Canva). (required)

A college degree is not required to apply, although some form of educational experience is highly encouraged. Alabama Black Belt residents or anyone who has lived in the Black Belt region may hold preference in the application process.

What we seek in a Fellow

This program is not a job. It is an immersive, rigorous, engaging educational opportunity for those seeking experience in the social impact sector. It is vital that interested applicants acknowledge and understand the amount of time, energy and responsibility that goes into this program as a Fellow. We are in no way asking anyone to dedicate every single minute to fostering change; however, we (our team and Fellows) must have a mutual understanding of the work that goes into making a social impact. It is hard work. The following details serve as an outline of the qualities we are seeking in our Fellows.

• Resilient leaders are individuals who are able to adjust and adapt to new challenges in a positive and helpful way. Our Fellows must be willing to find ways to overcome a variety of obstacles within this type of work.

• Our fellows must consider themselves independent and adaptable meaning they are able to complete designated tasks in a thoughtful, creative and responsible manner that aligns with the mission of our coveted organization without direct management from our team.

• A good food advocate believes in the importance of good food for everyone, and this belief is key in creating the educational impact throughout our Black Belt region. While a degree in food studies isn’t required, we do believe our Fellows must hold a personal food philosophy that aligns with the overall mission of this organization.

• Our fellows are extraordinary emerging systems builders who dare to embrace the difficult journey of social change in food systems.

• We desire community developers who are willing to engage with a diverse range of individuals within their community, and build healthy relationships through mindful interactions with others. 

• Our team fosters an inclusive environment through our efforts; therefore, our Fellows believe in the importance of inclusivity and diversity. Our organization will not allow any derogatory or harmful speech or beliefs from our Fellows.

Although our organization is dedicated to creating greater food access and better food-based educational opportunities for our region, it is important that interested applicants understand that Black Belt Food Project does not consider itself an activist organization. We do not engage in political advocacy or activism or take positions on political issues or other causes, and neither political advocacy or activism is part of the Fellowship experience or the BBFP culture. There are many excellent organizations that focus on activism and political advocacy, and if these are your interests, we encourage you to seek out opportunities with these organizations. We understand that our efforts are working to improve established food policies in this Nation; however, we are building with intention and compassion and that is important to understand. We are not fighting to change policy. We are working to create an impact on our regional community in a meaningful way.

What do Fellows do?

This fellowship program allows an opportunity for both personal growth and career development. Fellows will assist the BBFP Executive Director with program coordination with involves assisting with outlining and building our current programs all while developing potential future programs for the nonprofit. In addition to this responsibility, Fellows are spend several hours each week engaging with partnering organizations and community members which ultimately fosters a deeper sense of connection to this region during their time here. 

Because Fellows engage in such a broad range of activities, it is easier to describe a typical Fellow week than a typical day.   Please keep in mind that every year is different, and each year inevitably brings new challenges and new and unexpected circumstances. We are looking for Fellows who have the flexibility and resilience to adapt and maintain a positive mindset and can do attitude even when things  do not go exactly as planned.  The following provides an approximate breakdown of Fellows’ activities during the week (all of the times below are approximate and may extend longer).  We are looking for Fellows who  maintain a mindset of extending themselves in pursuit of our mission and going above and beyond to get done what needs to get done.

Click here for a sample weekly schedule.
More detailed information about each task can be found below.

• 16-20 Hours / Working with our Community Partners This time is spent working with our local partners, many of which we collaborate with for programming in our region. Fellows will spend designated hours throughout the week at the following locations: the Hale County Hospital, the Rural Studio Farm, and Project Horseshoe Farm. Tasks and opportunities vary and can include experiences such as planting seedlings on the Rural Studio Farm, taking part in an afternoon community program at PHF, working one-on-one with hospital professionals to develop a food-based educational program for patients, leading meal prep courses for the hospital, engaging with fellows from Project Horseshoe Farm, leading after school cooking classes at the kitchen,  etc. We ask our Fellows to be flexible and understanding when working with community partners as they will interact with a range of people in the community, some of which may not hold the same beliefs. Fellows are asked to work with our partners and not against.

• 10-15 Hours / Administrative & Operations Hours may vary each week depending on programs and schedules. This time is dedicated to helping our team build our current community programs: Fresh Produce Pickups, Afterschool Food Classes, Community Lunches, and the Hale County Food Pharmacy. The Fellows’ main objective during this time is to connect with individuals, businesses and organizations to help build our programs in collaboration with our Executive Director, board members and community partners. This will involve tasks such exchanging emails with partners, hosting planning meetings for special events, outlining programs, organizing program metrics, designing promotional material for programs and sharing it on our outlets and in our community, updating the website as needed, sending out press releases, gathering rescued food items from farmers and producers for lunches and the food pantry, communicating with the regional food bank, and so forth. Additionally, the Fellow must be comfortable fundraising for the nonprofit whether it's through donation asks or applying for small grants. It is also important that our organization and our Fellow is engaging with the community and our current and potential partners. This time should also be dedicated to building communication efforts and can include things such as checking and responding to emails, reaching out to potential partners, and visiting and engaging with locals within the community to share our efforts and hear their ideas. Our executive director wants to host a community “town hall” meeting at least 1-2x a year in hopes of engaging more residents with our work and listening to their ideas or needs in order to build a stronger, more inclusive community run organization. This will be a part of the outreach.

• 7+ Hours / Mentor Meet-up with Executive Director It’s important that our team builds a relationship with our Fellows. We encourage open and honest conversation among our team. This time is meant to facilitate conversation and provide a space for questions, ideas, concerns, comments and thoughtful conversation. It’s also just time that can be spent together learning and growing with one another. Our executive director offers several hours each week to interact with our Fellows in various ways, from regular meet-ups to time spent together working on a particular task or project. We want our Fellow to feel as though they are heard and have an opportunity to learn from our leadership.

• 2 Hours / Local Community Engagement A midweek time allotted for the exploration of the region–enjoy some time at the local coffee shop, spend time with someone in the community, shop downtown, drive to a nearby town, visit the library, stop by a neighboring farm, engage with our local government. This isn’t considered free time. It’s more about creating simple interactions within the community. We do encourage our Fellows to write about their exploratory experiences to ensure time is being spent with intention. Local Community Engagement differs from partner and organizational program engagement in its level of interaction. This includes healthy engagement with organizations and institutions such as the local government; parks and recreation; religious bodies; arts, culture and entertainment; food systems; nonprofit services; transportation systems; and so forth without establishing programs and projects to solve a community issue. We want our Fellows to be involved in the community in ways that aren’t directly related to our programs as this engagement is important and integral to their development within the community.

• 1-2 Hours / Abadir’s Kitchen Garden Located on one acre in downtown Main Street, the Abadir’s Kitchen Garden is a small, organic garden owned and operated by our executive director. A little time each week will be dedicated to garden maintenance and upkeep. Tasks include starting and transplanting seedlings, watering the garden, harvesting vegetables, prepping vegetables for storage, collecting seeds, arranging floral arrangements for the cottage, stocking produce pickup stands with produce collected from the garden, and so forth. These tasks can be completed periodically throughout the week and will not require too much time. It is important to note that this is an organic farm in rural Alabama. There will be interactions with various bugs and pests. 

• 5+ Hours / Enrichment Fridays We value all the time and energy our Fellows put into developing this organization. All weekly tasks are tied to service and education, and we want to extend these educational experiences of the week through additional, hands-on developmental opportunities that aren’t tied to our organization. Enrichment Fridays are meant to encourage personal growth and exploration through engaging activities within the region. Our executive director helps organize various trips, classes, workshops, lecture programs, and lunches for Fellows to attend. Additionally, Fellows are asked to seek out potential educational opportunities of interest. Potential Enrichment Fridays include things such as lunch with a regional mentor, cooking with an Alabama chef, a local or regional art class or workshop, farm tours, historical tours of Black Belt towns, attending a nearby conference, visiting the State capital, and so forth. All opportunities will be organized prior to attending and are meant to be educational and engaging. 
  

Why consider a Fellowship with BBFP?

This Fellowship program is designed to provide hands-on experience for individuals seeking to make a social impact through food-based programs and organizations. Rather than an internship where hours upon hours are dedicated to office tasks each week, the Black Belt Food Project Food Systems Fellowship works to provide a stronger, more realistic organizational experience through the inclusion of real community involvement. 

We are located within a heavily underserved region in the United States, and our Fellows can make a huge impact through small, meaningful approaches to community building. The work can be very challenging and hours are long, but the work our Fellows are able to do in the course of a year will make a lasting impact on this region. 

While this area faces various challenges, the Alabama Black Belt is a culturally and historically rich area with stories and communal rituals that are unique to this area, and we want to honor and respect all the good that exists within this area. There is such a wide range of people and organizations working to make a difference in Greensboro and neighboring communities; together, we can spark some real, meaningful change for a wholesome future.

Fellowship Housing and Educational Assistance

Through generous donations and financial support, BBFP is able to offer the Fellowship without tuition or charge to Fellows. We are grateful to those willing to make a dedication to this region, which is why we choose to provide financial assistance to our Fellows.

To help Fellows partially offset educational costs related to their year of volunteer service and learning, our team provides shared housing and utilities free of charge to Fellows (approximate value of $8,000/year) and an educational grant/transportation reimbursement (total of $825/month) that is intended to help Fellows partially offset other basic living costs and their significant transportation costs related to the Fellowship.  

Finally, we are able to provide a small relocation grant to each Fellow to help partially offset their costs of moving  ($100-$300 depending on distance). 

Application Process + Deadline to Apply

We are currently accepting applications for the 2023-2024 Fellowship. The deadline to apply is March 10, 2023.

The application process includes a basic Q&A section as well as an essay section. Questions are not difficult, but they are important. All applicants are highly encouraged to be as open and as thoughtful with their responses. Please don’t write what you think we want to hear. Please share stories and insights about who you are and what you want to do with your life and your time here. 

In addition to the application, we have provided an overview of Black Belt Food Project which includes our mission, food philosophy, purpose and hopes for this organization. Please read over the document as some questions relate to our mission. Both the application and the organization’s overview can be accessed using the links below. Please email completed applications to our team at blackbeltfoodproject@gmail.com.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. 

Application Timeline

March 10 - applications are due

March 24 - emails will be sent out to all applicants regarding whether or not they have been invited to interviews

April 3-7 - first round interviews will take place (Zoom calls with the team)

April 17-21 - second round interviews will take place (Zoom calls with executive director and founder)

Final decisions will be made by May 5.  All remaining applicants will be contacted at this point.