Local Food Fellows Program

The hourly wage for the fellows will be $17.50 per hour, paid for by K-State Research and Extension. The fellowship period will be a total of 320 hours, either full-time 40 hours per week for 8 weeks or another flexible time frame based on your project needs.

Fellow positions can be funded in one of two ways:

1. K-State Student Employee: K-State Research and Extension will hire and coordinate all financial responsibilities for the fellow. The fellows will be employees of Kansas State University and report hours worked on a bi-weekly basis through June and July. These fellows must be current K-State students. This will be a good option for many K-State Research and Extension local units to hire a fellow.

2. Independent Fellow Position: K-State Research and Extension will administer funding to partner organizations to hire their own fellows. Partner sites will receive total compensation for 320-hour fellow positions, or $5,600 per position. This amount is to be paid to the fellow as a stipend amount for a completed project.

*Please note program expenses, mileage, and other added expenses of all fellow positions, regardless of hiring status, will be the responsibility of the host partner. K-State Research and Extension is only providing the funds to hire the fellows.

Community organizations across the state of Kansas will identify a local food system project that can be completed by a fellow position in 320 hours. A community partner organization must complete a Local Food Fellows Program application outlining the project and the role of the fellow within the project.

If the project is approved, K-State Research and Extension will support partner organizations in creating a detailed job description and project task list before advertising the fellow position description. K-State Research and Extension will also support interviewing and selection of candidates. Fellows will be hired to complete the project as detailed in the position description. The recipient organization will be responsible for providing office space, supplies, and supervision of the fellow as well as any other additional project expenses, as necessary.

During the approved project period, fellows will be responsible for reporting an update on project activities on a bi-weekly basis. This may include a virtual meeting with the K-State Research and Extension Local Food System Program Coordinator as necessary.

Upon completion of the fellowship period, the recipient organization must complete or submit:

• Participation in a showcase of fellows' presentations
• Program evaluation and project outcomes report including community or organization perspective of the experience and accomplishments
• Pictures and/or video documenting the project being conducted. K-State Research and Extension is also able to create video success stories on some projects.
• Copies of media promoting the fellow and the project

For Independent & K-State Student Fellow Positions:
Aug. 1- Sept 30: Application proposals are accepted from organizations who want to host a fellow
Oct. 15: Community host organizations are notified of acceptance
Oct. 15-31: Host organizations create and submit fellow position descriptions
Nov. – Dec.: Advertise fellow positions to the public
Jan. 1: Fellow applications due

February – May: Spring Independent Fellowship Period
OR
June - August: Summer Independent or K-State Student Fellowship Period

Fellows complete Local Food System Project in host community. During this time, Local Food System Program Coordinator will visit each community/fellow at least once during the project. Fellows and site supervisors will complete program evaluation at the completion.

Any community organization or business in the state of Kansas involved in the local food system is eligible to apply. This includes, but is not limited to, production, processing, distribution, marketing, media, communications, or community engagement.

To apply, submit the following through our online application.

1. Organization contact information
2. Location where fellow project will be completed
3. Identify the supervisor of fellow and their role
4. Time period desired for fellow project
5. Describe in detail the project identified for the fellow and how the need for this project was determined. Please refer to Kansas Local Foods Fellow Project Priorities list as you determine your project.
6. Describe the intended audience or population that will benefit from this project.
7. Describe any partners or stakeholders this fellow position will work with.
8. Describe how this project will increase access to educational materials, resources, or technical assistance related to local foods.
9. How will you evaluate the fellow and the success of the project?

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Local Food System Program Coordinator, Amanda Lindahl, alindahl@Ksu.edu

1. Project must take place in the state of Kansas.
2. Project is related to at least one of the key elements of a local food system including: production, processing, distribution, access, consumption, and/or recovery.
3. Project activities can involve education, marketing, planning, or organizing efforts to increase the capacity of local food systems in Kansas.
4. Projects should involve food produced and consumed in Kansas.
5. Projects that increase access to educational materials, resources, and technical expertise related to the local food system of Kansas.
6. Projects that engage new partners including diverse, under-represented populations. For more information from our funder regarding these populations, please refer here and here.

1. Create a marketing campaign for local farmers’ market including marketing of specific vendors that sell. Increase public awareness and attendance at the farmers’ market.
2. Create a marketing campaign to share benefits of buying local food in Kansas.
3. Organize and execute farmers' market engagement activities including kids activities, live music, seasonal cooking workshops, etc.
4. Establish or support existing social media presence for Kansas local food system participants including producers, processors, distributors, markets, etc.
5. Create a series of educational workshops on local food systems for area youth including 4-H, FFA, Scouts, etc. Many curriculum options are already linked on our website.
6. Develop consumer educational materials on the benefits of local food systems.
7. Catalog a list of the county or regional local food sellers. Determine the best method for sharing that list with the public.
8. Work with city or county administration to update zoning and codes to accommodate production, processing, and/or distribution of local food.
9. Support expansion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) to new farmers markets, grocery stores, and farm stands.
10. Promote Double Up Food Bucks, Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program and other food access opportunities in your area including outreach to local services like Health Departments, public libraries, community centers, etc.
11. Translate local food materials into new languages appropriate for area participants.
12. Work with a local, direct to consumer producer to set up a CSA – Community Supported Agriculture. Or multiple producers to establish a collaborative CSA model such as this one.
13. Follow local food producers around their farm and document what makes them successful. Create a success and challenges story that we can include on our K-State Research and Extension Local Foods website.
14. Work with a local K-State Research and Extension Horticulture or Ag Agent to create technical guides on small scale, local food production methods. This could be in partnership with local producers.
15. Partner with USDA Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Services offices to better promote cost-share and loan opportunities that would apply to local food producers. Support producers in applying for appropriate programs.
16. Identify an area local food producer that needs support on a specific project. They must show that the project increases the ability to provide food for the local community in some way.
17. Manage a school garden over the summer; engage students and provide programming.
18. Work with a school district to support purchasing food from local producers and vendors.
19. Research farm insurance options for specialty crop growers. Working with the Kansas Specialty Crop Growers Association (KSCGA), interview growers to learn what coverage they need and use and compile a list of providers.
20. Write a grant to fund local food systems action.
21. Increase capacity for food recovery/reuse/rescue/composting initiatives.
22. Work with a local producer to create a value-added product and market it in the local grocery store.

1. How many fellows is K-State Research & Extension Local Food Systems hiring?
   Answer: We hired 16 fellows in 2024 and have funding to hire 18 fellows in 2025. We anticipate hiring 10 independent fellows and 8 K-State student fellows in 2025.
2. Can a host site have more than one fellow?
   Answer: If your project requires more than one person to complete the desired outcome, then we will consider funding more than one fellow at one site. However, we do intend to fund as many diverse projects across the state as possible. Therefore, multiple fellows at one site will depend on how many other proposals we receive.
3. Our project will take more than 8 weeks to complete, can we extend the timeline?
   Answer: Yes, there is flexibility in the timeline of the fellowship. If you desire to hire a part-time fellow and extend the funding over a longer period of time, that is acceptable. If you would like funding to hire a full-time fellow for two fellowship periods, that may be possible based on competitiveness of other fellow applicants and project details.
4. Our organization needs help, but I don’t have time to manage another person, can I still apply for a fellow?
   Answer: No, you must provide staff to manage the day-to-day activities of your fellow. The K-State Research and Extension Local Food System Program Coordinator will provide management support but will not be able to provide regular supervision or management of the fellow.
5. We hosted a fellow in 2024, are we eligible to apply again to host a fellow in 2025?
   Answer: Yes, you can apply again. Please note that if you intend to apply for the same project we strongly encourage you to clearly state what changes or expansions you will make in 2025 to improve the project.