Fellowship

By successfully completing the Fellowship components, participants earn a suite of professional certifications, including:

• U.S. Department of Labor Apprenticeship Certificate for School Food Directors
• School Food Institute Silver Certificate
• Arizona State University’s Swette Center Sustainable Food Systems Change for School Food Professionals Micro-Certificate 
• Results Coaching Leadership Training Certificate
• ServSafe Manager Certification
• Division of Apprenticeship Standards Certificate (CA Fellows)

Fellows also have the opportunity to complete specialized microcredentials, such as:

• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging in School Nutrition Leadership
• Financial Management for Scratch-cooked School Meal Programs
• Menu Planning and Facilities to Support Scratch-cooked School Meal Programs
• Values Aligned Procurement for Scratch-cooked School Meal Programs
• Administrative Review and Compliance for Scratch-cooked School Meal Programs
• Policy and Advocacy for School Food Leaders
• Human Resources & Leadership for Scratch-cooked School Meal Programs
• Nutrition for Scratch-cooked School Meal Programs
• Marketing for Scratch-cooked School Meal Programs
• Grant Writing & Fundraising for School Nutrition Programs

Leadership & Coaching • Menu Planning • Facilities • Culinary Skills • Procurement • Policy and Compliance • Advocacy & Education • Finances • Human Resources • Grant Writing & Fundraising • Environmental Sustainability • Food Systems • Nutrition • Marketing • Communications 

Schedule
The Fellowship calendar will be shared with selected applicants in December. Selected applicants will have the opportunity to review the schedule and confirm their availability prior to accepting their place in the program.

~30 virtual live learning sessions
Fellows participate in live virtual learning sessions on Zoom most Tuesdays from 3-6 p.m. Pacific time. These sessions are led by expert content leads from the Chef Ann Foundation and beyond who cover a range of topics, including procurement, finance, DEIB, sustainability, and more.

Asynchronous learning
School Food Institute: Each Fellow will complete a Silver Certificate through the Chef Ann Foundation’s School Food Institute, which includes our School Food 101 course, as well as four additional courses of their choosing. Fellows will enroll in their School Food Institute courses at no cost when they begin the program in January, and will complete them at their own pace by December 31.

Sustainable Food Systems Change for School Food Professionals Micro-Certificate: Offered through Arizona State University’s Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems, this micro-certificate explores the role of school food programs in the broader U.S. food system. Fellows will enroll in the micro-certificate at the start of the program in January, and the modules will be introduced throughout the Fellowship. Fellows will complete the micro-certificate by December 31. 

Four in-person learning trips
Fellows participate in four 3-5-day trips throughout the program, generally scheduled for early March, early April, early May, and mid-October. These trips provide hands-on learning experiences.

- Site Visits: Fellows visit two school districts across the U.S. that excel in scratch cooking to experience another school meal program in operation and spend valuable time with the district’s team. Fellows are assigned to districts in groups of 3-5 based on their learning goals and the strengths of the host district.
- Leadership Development Intensive: Fellows attend a workshop with Results Coaching to deepen their leadership capacity through coaching skills.
- Culinary Training: Fellows participate in a hands-on culinary intensive to bring hands-on, practical experience back to their operations.

The Chef Ann Foundation covers transportation, lodging, and meals for all trips (via reimbursement, unless upfront costs pose a significant burden) and coordinates travel logistics. 

Project-based learning
Fellows complete two projects throughout the Fellowship year: a group policy project and a self-led capstone project.

- Group Policy Project: Fellows are assigned to small groups to research and present on a policy topic related to school food at the local, state, or national level. The project culminates in a presentation and one-pager that summarizes their findings and recommendations this is shared with policymakers in their own communities.
- Capstone Project: Each Fellow designs a project to advance scratch cooking in their district with the support of a $5,000 stipend from the Chef Ann Foundation. After receiving approval from Fellowship staff and their supervisor, Fellows dedicate approximately 50 hours to implementing their project.

Closing celebration
The Fellowship concludes with a special in-person gathering where Fellows present their capstone projects to peers, partners, funders, policymakers, and others, and are celebrated for their hard work over the year.

Fellows can expect to spend about eight hours per week on the Fellowship. The three-hour virtual live learning sessions are included in those eight hours. While how those eight hours are spent will vary from week to week, one example of a typical week would be one hour of pre-work, three hours in the live learning session, one hour of homework, and two to three hours of asynchronous learning (i.e., School Food Institute coursework) or project work. Weeks that include travel will exceed the usual eight hours.

There is no cost to Fellows or their districts to participate in the Fellowship. All expenses for program-related travel (i.e., flights, rental cars, lodging, meals, etc) are covered.

The baseline eligibility criteria is working at a school food service/nutrition department that is self-operating under the USDA National School Lunch Program.

We will consider individuals who are already directors at smaller districts or who need additional knowledge, skills, and experience to transition their program to scratch cooking. We will also consider up-and-coming leaders at districts that are farther along the scratch cooking continuum. We aim to build cohorts of Fellows from districts that are diverse in size and current level of scratch cooking. Our key priorities are self-operated programs (as opposed to operated by a food service management company) and the desire to improve the quality of school meals through scratch cooking.

During the first half of the Fellowship, the capstone project goals, guidelines, and expectations will be covered in depth. At a high level, Fellows are free to select their own topic as long as it fits the project timeline and budget, strengthens scratch cooking in their district, and advances their leadership skills. The project must be approved by the Chef Ann Foundation and the Fellow’s supervisor before the capstone stipend will be disbursed to the Fellow’s district.