Above: 30th Class Hunger Fellow Adin Burwell.
My journey as a fellow began at the Chicago O’Hare Airport. I had never stepped foot in the Midwest before. As I took an Uber to my apartment in South Chicago, I looked out the window marveling at this large, bustling city laid out before me. I had a few days to unpack and settle in before I began my work at the Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFPAC). CFPAC is an organization that advocates for and advances policies that advocate for food justice and sovereignty in Chicago and beyond. My project with CFPAC was to increase transparency in pathways to land access for community based food projects. Navigating institutional processes can be confusing and exhausting.
To best help prospective farmers, I first had to learn and understand local land policies. My agriculture degree and research experience came in handy. After that, I began interviewing institutional representatives about the policies that their institution held regarding land access. I took this information and updated the Chicago Land Access Pathways (CLAP) guide to serve as a hub for farmers. In addition to my work on the Productive Landscapes Team, CFPAC allowed me to add things to my work plan that interested me. I then was able to help facilitate the New Neighbor Nutrition Group. This group coordinates and problem solves nutritional needs for new immigrants to Chicago. As I delved deeper into my work, I also gained a better understanding of Chicago’s wards, the role of Aldermen, and the communities I was serving and living in overall. Other things came to me later, like calling the CTA the “L”, learning that the Metra exists, understanding the grandness and magic of Lake Michigan, and why they call Chicago the Windy City.
With CFPAC I also got the opportunity to travel outside of Chicago to represent my field site organization at the RE-AMP Midwest Climate and Agriculture Summit. It was a wonderful experience being in Nebraska City, Nebraska, and attending illuminating sessions.
Before I knew it, my field site portion was coming to an end and it was time to move to Washington, D.C. I left having gained more experience visualizing and organizing data, interviewing, and synthesizing complex jargon into simple language. All skills that would prove helpful for the policy portion of my fellowship.
I was thrilled to be matched with Feeding America National Organization (FANO) for the policy site portion of my fellowship. Feeding America’s mission is to help people get the food and resources that they need to thrive. I was placed on the Policy Team focusing on child nutrition, specifically summer hunger. In this portfolio, my main responsibility is to help the rollout of SUN Bucks (Summer EBT), a brand new program starting the summer of 2024. I also assisted with the expansion of the rural non-congregate waivers (also known as SUN Meals To-Go) in the Summer Food Service Program.
There is a lot of change that goes into a brand new program. For starters, even the name can evolve! I began my work referring to the program as Summer EBT, and now we refer to its new branding name “SUN Bucks. Over the last few months I have seen what program rollout looks like in different states. For additional context, states have to opt-in to participate in the SUN Bucks program. States must also provide half of the administrative costs. The other half of the administrative costs and the cost of the benefits is paid for by the federal government. So far, thirty-seven States and two tribes have opted in for Summer 2024. Along with other tasks, I have created one-pagers to describe SUN Bucks, edited the FANO SUN Bucks page, and created resources for advocates to expand SUN Bucks into their state. Working for an organization as large as Feeding America and collaborating with the USDA, as well as partner organizations such as Share our Strength, has been so exciting. I now feel well-versed in summer hunger programs, and am glad to play my part in the fight against summer hunger. As the quirks are being sorted out this inaugural summer, I am writing a Summer 2024 report focusing on best practices for SUN Bucks and SUN Meals To-Go.
I learned many lessons in Chicago, including: the role of local government, the power of advocacy, and more about what it means to be an adult post-grad. In D.C., I’ve learned more about rulemaking, TEFAP, entitlement programs, and the process of doing national level policy work outside of the government lens that I had from interning on the Hill. Additionally, I have felt my leadership capabilities grow exponentially. Throughout both the field site and the policy portion of the fellowship, we had racial equity sessions. Thanks to the racial equity sessions, as I complete my work I am able to use a racial equity lens. I feel that this has also helped me become a more effective social justice leader.
This fellowship has produced an enormous number of leaders working throughout the anti-hunger space, from FRAC, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, to the White House. Emerson alums are everywhere, both domestically and internationally making positive strides in the movement to end hunger. I feel lucky to soon join the ranks of impressive alums that our program holds, yet I am sad for this fellowship to end. Not only has the work at both of my placements been fulfilling, but I also have made great connections with my co-fellows. From the beginning we all meshed so wonderfully. I have learned so much from my other fellows, and have loved growing as a leader beside them. Goodbyes will be hard, but I am so excited to see all of the awesome change that my co-fellows will go on to make. This fellowship is a year in length, but I have gained skills, knowledge, and leadership capabilities that I will utilize for the rest of my career.