Applications are now available for Allegheny Mountain Institute’s fully sponsored Farm and Food System Fellowship!

The Fellowship is an 18-month educational program that fully sponsors, trains, and empowers individuals to become teachers and advocates for a food system that is socially, environmentally, and economically just. Selected Fellows spend six months in experiential, residential Farm and Food Study at AMI’s Allegheny Farm Campus, followed by a Community Action Year, applying their training in partnership with AMI and regional non-profit organizations.

More about the fellowship:

"From May to October, AMI fully sponsors a cohort of passionate individuals to learn, live and study together on the Allegheny Farm in Highland County, VA.

Fellows gain a full-season of hands-on, diversified experience in agricultural methods that enhance the health of our ecosystem. This includes fruit and vegetable production, poultry care, rotational grazing, mushroom cultivation, beekeeping, agroforestry, ecological farm design, food preservation, and whole food cooking. Fellows are directly involved with outreach, education and sales, and may work to teach in a school garden, sell at a Farmers Market, and supply Community Supported Agriculture share.

Daily experiential learning is augmented by in-depth workshops and field trips led by passionate, experienced staff and topical experts. Through these activities, Fellows deepen farming skills and explore critical food system issues, examining the intersections of food policy, climate change, racism, and socioeconomic justice.

The Fellowship challenges and encourages both self-directed and collaborative learning. The Farm and Food Study culminates in a Capstone Project that provides Fellows with the opportunity to explore and hone their skills and interests.

Farm Fellows spend approximately 40-50 hours per week learning, studying, and working on the farm in a typical week, with occasional evening and weekend commitments for chores and AMI events. Fellows are granted 3 personal days and holidays. AMI provides accident insurance coverage.

The Farm and Food Fellowship is an 18-month program, and AMI expects all successful Farm Fellows to commit to the following year of Community Action. Farm Fellows receive a $1,000 stipend upon signature and commitment to the Community Action Year contract. At AMI's discretion, Fellows may be asked to repay the costs of the Farm and Food Study Fellowship if they voluntarily leave the program early or fail to commit to or complete the Community Action Year."