Internship: Graduate Fellow- Food Waste Prevention
Salary
$22.00 - $24.64 Hourly
Job Type
Internship
Remote Employment
Flexible/Hybrid
Job Number
25EED167MH029
Closing Date
6/9/2025 11:59 PM Central
Description
Hennepin County's Environment and Energy department is seeking to hire a graduate fellow to work on several food waste prevention projects. The fellow will support both the county’s Zero Waste and Climate Action plans through preventing wasted food at home, in schools and at food shelves.
The fellow will be managed by the Waste Reduction and Recycling Unit and work with other applicable departments (e.g., Environmental Health, Public Health). The fellow will be responsible for researching food waste in schools, at farmers markets and food shelves; researching food donation resources for businesses and schools; and educating residents on preventing wasted food.
Current Hennepin County employees who refer a candidate hired into an open competitive position may be eligible for a $500 referral bonus. For more information visit the employee referral program. Find us here at upcoming career fairs!
Location and hours:
This position is hybrid and will be performed both on-site at various locations within Hennepin County and at Hennepin County Environment and Energy Department’s main office at 625 South 4th Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55415, and remote as job duties require. This internship will start summer 2025 with flexibility on start date and last one year in duration. Work hours are Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Some weekend or evening events will be required. The fellow will work 40 hours/week during the summer and 19 hours/week during the academic school year. While this position is designated as hybrid, based on current requirements hires must reside in or be willing to relocate to Minnesota or Wisconsin.
About this position type:
This position is internally classified as a Graduate Fellow. Click here to view the job classification specification. This is a limited duration internship.
Graduate Fellow Benefits:
· $5,250 tuition reimbursement for one semester
· 12 days paid time off
· Professional development provided over summer
· Fellows who successfully complete the program will be given hiring preference for approved positions
In this position, you will:
· Document the flow of food into and out of emergency food shelves including how much and what type of food is donated that cannot be used, how food shelves are disposing of food, and how much food is not taken by residents.
· Table at appropriate events to increase awareness of wasted food prevention practices and recruit for the August Stop Food Waste Challenge.
· Inventory K-12 schools for best practices in preventing wasted food and assist in developing staff training related to reducing wasted food in school cafeterias.
· Collect information from the farmers markets in Hennepin County to understand if and how their farmers and vendors donate food.
· Support and promote local food sharing networks for residents; Research local and national examples and explore creating a pilot network in a neighborhood or city for food sharing.
· Research what resources exist for food retailers and food service businesses to donate surplus food, including prepared food, and update existing Hennepin County resources; Help schedule and communicate with city and county health departments to provide clear and consistent messaging about rules and best practices for sharing tables, donations, etc.
Need to have:
· Enrollment for the entire 2025-2026 academic school year in a master's or PhD degree program in environment, public health, food systems and agricultural, or a related field
· Note* If you are currently completing a bachelor’s degree in spring or summer 2025 and will be enrolled in a master’s degree program for the entire 2025-2026 academic school year you will be eligible.
Nice to have:
· Experience with:
o Growing or managing food and/or handling food waste.
o Creating a research project that involved working with external partners.
o Applying a racial equity lens to research, work, or projects.
o Research, data collection and tracking, analysis, and reporting.
o Educating or training others.
o Working with K-12 schools.
o Effective communication, collaboration and partnership-building skills with diverse audiences and stakeholders.
o Writing and editing content for a public audience.
o Developing a research project to track waste or outputs of an operation.
o Federal, state, or municipal regulations.
o Growing or managing food and/or handling food waste, such as field work, food service, or rescuing surplus food as a volunteer.
· Knowledge of:
o Federal, state, or municipal regulations.
· Ability to:
o Communicate verbally in Spanish or Somali.
o Manage multiple priorities and projects simultaneously.
o Build and maintain productive, collaborative relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
o Interpret federal, state and county policies, laws, rules, and regulations.
Candidates with fluency in another language in addition to English are encouraged to apply. Bilingual candidates who pass a language assessment may qualify for additional bilingual pay and duties.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Talent Acquisition division
Hennepin County Human Resources department
Submit a request at hennepin.us/ask-hr or 612-348-7855