Two CFAES students who are also Sustainable Science Fellows (a graduate fellowship program of the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture) have recently completed internships with the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Sustainable Agriculture Program as part of their experiential learning opportunity.
During her internship, Rebecca Som Castellano, a doctoral student in rural sociology, documented the best practices in Ohio and across the United States in projects addressing access to healthy food. She also compiled a listing of funding sources for projects aimed at improving local economies, environment and equity.
Julia Barton, a doctoral student in the Environmental Sciences Graduate Program, worked with the Ohio Food Policy AdvisoryCouncil’s four task forces and helped to develop the first annual Ohio Food Policy Council Report. She also helped with skill-sharing sessions and roundtables for local and regional food policy councils from around Ohio.
Both say their internships reinforced what can be done when state government and universities collaborate.
For more information on the USDA Sustainable Sciences Fellows, visit http://sri.osu.edu/usda.php.