The Food Education Fellowship
Every year, Pilot Light recruits and accepts a Food Education Fellowship cohort of highly-motivated PreK–12th grade teachers across the country with an interest in implementing Pilot Light Food Education lessons consistently with their students. Accepted Fellows are supported with Pilot Light resources and by staff, peers, and partners and as they refine and evaluate Food Education in their classrooms.
Applications for the 2025-26 school year are now closed! Thank you for your interest in our program.
We have now completed the process of admitting 26 new Fellows into our program. If your application was not selected this year, we encourage you to still try using Food Education in your classroom and apply again next year! Explore our collection of Food Education lessons on our Food Education Center for inspiration and let us know how they go!
Additionally, there are a number of ways to stay involved with Pilot Light this year. Explore all the programs we offer here and if you would like to be notified of upcoming opportunities (including next year’s Fellowship and any curriculum writing), please submit this form. We welcome you to sign up for our newsletter here, too, where we will also share learnings from teachers in programs as well as updates about what we have going on (we promise we don’t send too many).
Finally, the Fellowship opens every year, and we welcome you to apply again in the future. We look forward to seeing your application and hope to work with you in the future!
FOOD EDUCATION FELLOWSHIP REQUIREMENTS:
WHO YOU ARE:
- You will be teaching in the United States in the 2025-26 school year
- You have least 2 years of teaching experience
- You have an interest in:
- Using Food Education as a tool to teach in your classroom
- Monthly, virtual professional development related to Food Education
- Collaborating and connecting with like-minded peers
- Engaging in your school community and with students’ families
- You are committed to meeting requirements outlined for Fellows (see below)
- You have Administrator approval completed and submitted by May 26, 2025
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Attendance at all professional development meetings & summer institute (hosted virtually – see dates below)
- Delivering Food Education lessons weekly in classrooms
- Commitment to evaluating the effects of Food Education in your classroom
- Commitment to student-led Food Education advocacy & community and family engagement
- Commitment to collaborating with like-minded peers
ADDITIONAL APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:
- Updated resume
- Completion of Pilot Light Food Education Fellowship Application by May 26, 2025
- Completion of Administrator Recommendation Form by May 26, 2025
- If selected as a finalist: application screen, phone interview, and work sample submitted to Pilot Light staff
LOCATION:
United States (Your school should be located within the U.S.A.)
DURATION:
August 2025-June 2026
Key Dates – all professional development will be held virtually over Zoom
- Summer Institute: August 11th & 12th (9AM-4PM CST)
- Monthly Virtual Professional Development (Evenings – All times Central Standard Time (CST))
- September 10th – 5pm-7pm CST
- October 8th – 5pm-7pm CST
- November 19th – 5pm-7pm CST
- December 10th – 5pm-7pm CST
- January 14th – 5pm-7pm CST (Office Hours)
- February 11th – 5pm-7pm CST
- March 11th – 5pm-7pm CST
- April 15th – 5pm-7pm CST (Advocacy Panel)
- May 13st – 5pm-7:30pm CST
- May 27th – 5pm-7:30pm CST
WHAT YOU WILL DO:
- Engage in monthly professional development sessions during the times listed above
- Receive 1:1 support & coaching from staff & peers
- Cultivate a community partnership and student advocacy project with your students
- Co-plan a chef demonstration tied to your lessons
- Engage in a peer learning cohort and make connections within our alumni network of 100+ educators
- Compensation: $2,000 stipend + $300 reimbursement for materials, $300-500 reimbursement for chef demos, and $500 reimbursement for advocacy projects
Questions?
We’re here to answer. Start by checking out our FAQs and click here to WATCH a live Q&A session with former Food Education Fellows Lisa Ernst and Nikita LaCour firsthand. Please contact Caitlin Arens, Food Education Fellowships Director, at caitlin@pilotlightchefs.org with additional questions.
Watch the recording of last year’s virtual office hours featuring Fellowship Alum Deborah Riddle here.
Pilot Light embraces a philosophy that recognizes, values, and actively seeks diversity among its team. We seek to attract, develop, retain, and promote a talented diverse workforce in a culture where all employees will contribute to their fullest potential. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, citizenship, pregnancy or maternity, national origin, status as an individual with disability, age, ancestry, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law.