Above: Joel Anderson, 27th Class Emerson Fellow. When I first learned that I’d been placed with the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (IFAI) in Fayetteville, Arkansas, I was eager to learn more about the work being done to promote tribal … Read more
First-Day Feeling: Emergency Food Distribution in Oregon’s Migrant Communities
Above: Ally Hardebeck, 27th Class Emerson Fellow. On December 9, I found myself on apple duty: open bag, fill with 15 apples, tie it off. The methodical simplicity of this task was comforting. Months of remote work had left me … Read more
Join us for “The State of Hunger” on March 5
“The State of Hunger in America,” a briefing featuring field work presentations from the 27th Class of Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows, will be held online on Friday, March 5, 2021. This is a great opportunity to learn about the … Read more
Persistence and Pandemic Response: Getting the Word Out in Montgomery, Alabama
Above: Curtis Hills, 27th Class Emerson Fellow. Years ago, a buddy of mine and I worked as youth organizers with the Nollie Jenkins Family Center (NJFC), a social advocacy organization, in Lexington, Mississippi. We were the new kids on the … Read more
Laying Pathways for Success: Grantmaking and Native Agriculture in Fayetteville, Arkansas
Above: Sara Maillacheruvu, 27th Class Emerson Fellow. In a typical Emerson field placement blog, fellows often begin with a reflection that compares where they’ve come from—their hometown, where they went to school, where they’ve worked—and where they are now, or … Read more
Collaboration, Trust, and Agency: Community-Based Food Systems in Chicago
Above: Riani Carr, 27th Class Emerson Fellow. When I received the long-awaited email that contained my field placement, my eyes quickly found the part that read, “…your field placement is with the Chicago Food Policy Action Council!” In my excitement, … Read more
Serve the Line and Shorten the Line: Emergency Food and Equity in Houston
Above: Leslie Rios, 27th Class Emerson National Hunger Fellow, at her placement with the Houston Food Bank. I had only been to Houston a handful of times before I learned my field placement assignment would be the Houston Food Bank (HFB). … Read more
Space for Connection: Midfield Retreat with the Emerson Hunger Fellows
Each year, halfway through their field placements, Emerson Hunger Fellows gather from around country to a central point in the U.S. to participate in the annual Midfield Retreat. During this time fellows spend a week in rest, connection, laughter, and … Read more
Field Site Spotlight: Emily Hwang
Above: Emily Hwang at an IAC conference in Las Vegas, December, 2019. As a former Pennsylvanian resident, I would like to say to my Northerner friends and family that Arkansas is misunderstood. It’s Arkansas (ahr-kuhn-saw) y’all, not Alabama or any other … Read more
Field Site Spotlight: Anne Marie Noll
Above: Anne Marie Noll (second from left) poses with colleagues from the Native American Agriculture Fund at an IAC conference in Las Vegas, December, 2019. After growing up in the Hill Country of Texas, the Ozark foothills of Northwest Arkansas felt … Read more
Collecting Essential Data in Myanmar: Michael Wang
(Above: Leland Hunger Fellow Michael Wang (middle) and a colleague from the IFPRI Myanmar team posing with a woman who manages a pesticide retail shop in Sagaing Region, Myanmar. Decision-making on household enterprises is a key part of Michael’s research … Read more
Food Policy Done Correctly Does Not Exclude: Megan Smith and Cassandra Granville
(Above: Megan Smith, left, and Cassandra Granville, Washington, D.C., August 2019.) 26th Class Emerson Fellows Megan Smith and Cassandra Granville are in Buffalo, New York, for the field placement portion of their fellowships. Both Megan and Cassandra have been placed with the University … Read more