The Food Justice Cohort is a collaborative space where food-focused student interns translate real-world internship experiences into lifelong professional strength. Meeting monthly, cohort members come together to cultivate grit, patience, and problem-solving skills alongside their peers, building a community of empowered leaders ready to shape the future of our food systems.

How the Cohort Came to Life

The vision for the Food Justice Cohort began when leaders Aparna Katre and Dana secured grant support through the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. They envisioned placing students directly into local food organizations, then bringing them together to translate those hands-on experiences into a deeper understanding of regional food justice. Meanwhile, program advisory discussions revealed that food-system employers were looking for core qualities that go beyond textbooks: grit, determination, patience, and creative problem-solving.

Aparna and the team worked alongside Alex Oberton—a Biology major minoring in Environmental Studies—to bridge the gap between student growth and community needs, with Alex quickly becoming a key student leader of the initiative. Rather than expecting host sites to teach essential qualities like grit and problem-solving from scratch, the cohort was created to give interns a dedicated space to reflect, frame new skills, and support one another.

Today, the cohort links student energy with community needs by partnering with local farms, community garden projects, and organizations like the Duluth Center for Women and Children and Nourish. By gathering monthly to process their lived experiences in the field, these student interns gain the resilience and leadership skills needed to drive lasting change in our food systems.