Request for Applications: Food Systems and Public Health Fellowship for Journalists 2026-2027 Cohort Recruitment
Feb 02, 2026
The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) is pleased to announce its Request for Applications (RFA) for the 2026-2027 cohort of the Food Systems and Public Health Fellowship for Journalists. The fellowship is open to journalists interested in food systems and public health. Preference will be given to journalists with seven or fewer years of experience on the food systems beat, and staff and freelance journalists across all media platforms are eligible to apply. The application period is open now and closes on March 1, 2026. Applicants will be notified of decisions in late March, 2026.
Please contact Tiffani DeFreitas with any questions about the fellowship program and application process, at tdefrei1@jhmi.edu. More information about the program can be found here.
About the Program
CLF established the Food Systems and Public Health fellowship for Journalists in 2024 with the goal of helping early-to-mid career journalists learn about and navigate the complexity of issues at the intersection of public health and food systems, with a special focus on issues associated with food animal production. The fellowship aims to cultivate a supportive network for journalists who are striving to report on under-communicated stories that reflect the interrelationship of food production, the public’s health, and the promise of healthy, just, equitable, and sustainable food systems.
The 2026-2027 cohort will be the fellowship’s third cohort, adding to the growing network of journalists trained in food systems and affiliated with the Center.
In 2024, the inaugural cohort was composed of seven journalists. In 2025, the cohort size grew to include 12 journalists. Information about the previous cohorts’ fellowship experience can be found here.
Fellows selected for this one-year program will receive ongoing access to CLF expertise and support as they explore and develop story ideas through mentoring, networking, and educational webinars focused on key food systems and public health themes such as production practices, environmental and labor impacts, nutrition and diets, policy, and emerging reporting challenges. Fellows are also eligible to apply for a reporting grant.
The 2026-2027 cohort will begin in Baltimore, Maryland, with an in-person event from June 2 to 5, 2026. The fellows’ costs for travel to Baltimore, lodging, and meals will be covered. During Days 2 and 3, this year’s cohort will go on a field trip to visit farms in Baltimore County and an urban farm in Baltimore. Fellows will have an opportunity to explore how production models, labor, infrastructure, markets, land access, and local policy/regulatory constraints connect to public health.