Food Systems Innovation Fellow

Salary: $68,000 annually, plus benefits

Position posted until filled

The City of Atlanta seeks a Food Systems Innovation Fellow to work in the Mayor’s Office of Resilience (OoR). The City of Atlanta Mayor's Office of Resilience works every day to ensure equity, encourage dynamic civic engagement, secure sustainability outcomes, improve public safety, and become a leader in intersectional resilience. The team works across multiple areas of expertise including energy, water, waste diversion, transportation, food access, and urban agriculture.

The Food Systems Innovation Fellow will work on Food Systems Planning that informs the creation of the Atlanta Urban Agriculture and Food Systems Strategy and Plan (The Plan) under the City of Atlanta ARPA Food Insecurity Program. The selected candidate will serve in a role that reports directly to the Urban Agriculture and Food Systems Director in the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience. The candidate will work closely with a Food Systems Planning and Marketing Consultant that reports directly to the Urban Agriculture Director, also contracted through the City of Atlanta ARPA Food Insecurity Program. The candidate will work in the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience and collaborate with the city’s cross department Urban Agriculture & Food Systems Team, various City of Atlanta Departments and Offices, and external partner organizations. 

Urban Agriculture and Food Systems Strategy and Planning is an ongoing activity that impacts the health and well-being of Atlanta residents. Food Insecurity has been exacerbated; many communities are experiencing rapidly increasing housing costs, higher household energy burden and higher transportation costs, lower rates of living-wage employment, increasing childcare and education burden, and other (in)equity indicators. Atlanta communities with high populations of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color) residents, children, and seniors often experience these realities more harmfully while living under circumstances where individuals are choosing whether to miss certain meals versus addressing other necessities daily. The Food Systems Innovation Fellow will be the City of Atlanta work on the City’s effort of creating the Atlanta Urban Agriculture and Food Systems Strategy and Plan. This work will help achieve the goal of long-term food security infrastructure that is culturally relevant, responsive, prepared for future shocks & disruptions, and centers the individuals, households, and businesses most negatively impacted. 

Developing a resilient, local food system has been identified as a key action in the Resilient Atlanta Strategy, Action 3.3.1: “Develop a resilient local food system by 2025,” Action 3.3.2: “Develop, integrate, and institutionalize urban agriculture into policies, programs, and projects,” and is a Top Policy Recommendation of the 2020 Fresh Food Access Report, “Create a City of Atlanta food systems master plan for equitable development, in partnership with residents and other stakeholders groups.” The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the importance of prioritizing creation of The Plan. The Food Systems Innovation Fellow along with the Food Systems Innovation Consultant(s) are key roles towards creating The Plan during this critical time in Atlanta history.

The Plan will be an evolving model for future Atlanta planning that is rooted in modern day best practices in food policy & food systems planning, anti-racism, community-centric collaboration, food-oriented planning & development, equity, conflict resolution, place-keeping, historical context & future visioning. The Food Systems Innovation Fellow will uplift innovative tools & resources, as well as be a learning and resource connector, and collaborator for the broader food equity & justice movement across metro Atlanta. In addition to contributing to the City of Atlanta ARPA Food Insecurity Program, the candidate will support other food policy and food systems related initiatives for the City’s Urban Agriculture & Food Systems programs and activities, sometimes referred to as AgLanta. 

Creating The Plan will build off the AgLanta work of the past while creating pathways for the next 1-3-5-10 years of our Atlanta local food system ecosystem. City-wide resident & business community engagement is importa