Engage With Us
It’s how we approach everything we do, in research, teaching, advocacy, and action.
We welcome the interest and participation of students, scholars, activists, and educators across CUNY and beyond. We partner with advocates, volunteers, community organizations, businesses, and governments.
See our available employment and internship opportunities.
Interested in Our Work?
Then we’re interested in you. Reach out to learn about all the different ways you can engage with us: urbanfoodpolicy@sph.cuny.edu
Opportunities
Employment
Research Assistant: Food Environment and Food Access Surveys – Seeking Mandarin, Cantonese, and Russian Speakers!
The CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute is seeking multiple bi-lingual research assistants to conduct street intercept and telephone surveys about New Yorker’s experiences with their food environment and various food access programs.
Preferred candidates will demonstrate experience in conducting street intercept or telephone based surveys or interviews.
Research assistants must be fluent in at least one of the following languages:
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Mandarin
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Cantonese
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Russian
Research assistants must commit to working for at least 60 hours on site collecting data, with potential to increase if interested. Weekly schedules can be flexible but must be completed between the hours of 10am-6pm. The hourly rate for this position is $22 an hour. MPH and dietetic intern students are encouraged to apply.
To apply, please send a resume and cover letter detailing your experience to: katherine.tomaino@sph.cuny.edu. Include in the subject of your email: Research Assistant: Food Environment and Food Access Surveys.
Fellowship Programs
Our fellowship programs provide funding for CUNY faculty and students to spend one or two semesters at the Institute, during which senior faculty will assist them in developing research projects and proposals, or they can contribute to existing work of Institute faculty and staff.
Doctoral Student Fellowship Program
Our Doctoral Student Fellowship Program launched in Fall 2016. Students are invited to apply to receive a stipend to participate in Institute research projects or to develop a dissertation research project of their own, with the support of Institute faculty and staff.
Ongoing Fieldwork & Research
We welcome graduate students who wish to pursue fieldwork placements, capstone projects, Masters essays, or dissertation projects in food policy or food justice. Our institute can provide a home for food policy research conducted by CUNY students as well as students from institutions across the city and the world. Stipends are often available.
If you would like to learn more about conducting research with us, write to us at urbanfoodpolicy@sph.cuny.edu.
Internships
Please submit all relevant information, LOIs, and supporting documents using the link below.
https://forms.gle/5KTtvw1vumbUnrds6
If you have any questions please email craig.willingham@sph.cuny.edu
The CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute is a research and action center at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy. The Institute provides evidence to inform urban and municipal food policies that make equitable access to healthy, affordable food a priority and promote intersectoral perspectives that link nutrition, health, racial equity, democratic engagement, sustainable communities and a valued workforce.
The Institute is now accepting letters of interest (LOI) for students interested in internships for spring, summer and fall of 2023. The LOI should focus on one of the Institute’s current research areas listed below. If there is a food policy topic not explicitly mentioned, and in which you have strong interest and the desire to further develop through this internship, please include it in your LOI. The deadline for applications is February 28th 2023. We will review applications in early March and contacting selected applicants by March 31st 2023.
INTERNSHIP TOPIC AREAS
Food Policy Monitor/Regional Food Equity Planning
Our work in this area is focused on emerging trends in food policy at the city, state, and federal levels and regional food planning. You can read more about our work in this area here.
Food Labor and Workforce Development
Issues impacting food workers related to compensation and working conditions are currently being researched by the Institute. You can read more about our work in this area here.
Unhealthy Food/Predatory Marketing/Ultra-processed food
Our Institute is taking a close look at the marketing, promotion, formulation and impact of unhealthy food. You can read more about our work in this area here.
Food Security
Analysis of Pandemic EBT, campus food security, and the expansion of SNAP, WIC, etc. are all part of our research portfolio. You can read more about our work in this area here.
Food Advocacy
Our Institute conducts research to help advance participatory practices, from food plans to accessible food data in order to enable ordinary people to engage in food planning and policymaking. You can read more about our work in this area here.
Food Policy Communications
We provide information about food policy through our newsletter, forums, and social media so that advocates have the most up-to-date information to help them influence food policy change. You can read more about our work in this area here.
Other
If you have an idea for a topic not mentioned here, feel free to describe that in your LOI.
How to apply
Please fill out the submission form using the link here. You will also be able to upload your LOI and resume using the same link.
LOI REQUIREMENTS
Your LOI should be no longer than 500 words and include the following:
• Why you want to intern with the Institute
• Why you are interested in your chosen topic area
• Your vision for how this internship will support your academic and professional goals
