Fellowship

The Sector 02 Fellowship in Food Systems Resilience

An early-career research and practice program on community food systems as critical infrastructure — a literature that is essentially unoccupied, and a network where the work is real.

Purpose

The Fellowship exists to build a body of authored work on a subject almost no one is covering: rural community food systems treated as critical infrastructure resilience. Fellows write, publish, and present — and in doing so help establish a field.

Eligibility

Open to early-career researchers, graduate students, and practitioners with a demonstrated interest in food systems, rural resilience, public health, agriculture, or infrastructure policy. No prior publication record required — a serious proposal is what matters.

Cohort & term

A small cohort of [CONFIRM] fellows for a one-year term. Kept intentionally small so mentorship is real and the cohort finishes together.

Expectations

Two published pieces

Each fellow publishes two substantive pieces to the Coalition’s research section over the term, under their own byline. A deliberately achievable cadence — a cohort that finishes is worth more than one that burns out.

Year-end presentation

Fellows present their work at the year-end symposium, on a public agenda, to the Coalition and invited guests.

Field engagement

Fellows spend time with the network they write about — pantries, farms, and logistics — so the writing is grounded in the actual system.

Selection process & timeline

Applications are reviewed by an independent selection committee. The program director does not sit on the committee, preserving the independence that makes the credential worth holding.

Applications open: [CONFIRM]
Applications close: [CONFIRM]
Cohort announced: [CONFIRM]
Term begins: [CONFIRM]
Year-end symposium: [CONFIRM]

Selection committee

Three members, drawn from co-founders and at least one external reviewer. Names are published for independence and accountability.

Neva Wartell
Co-Founder; Executive Director, Catskill Food Pantry
Jonathan Gross
Co-Founder; President, Mountain Top Cares Coalition
[CONFIRM] — External member
Independent reviewer, to be named

Meet the 2027 cohort Year-end symposium Ask about applying