Agency Sponsor: Francis Ge, fmge@ucsc.edu
If interested, submit the submit the Real Food Calculator Internship Application/Interest Form.
Contact Sam Rosten, srosten@ucsc.edu, if you have any questions or want an update on your application. This is an unpaid internship.
# of Interns:
- Fall 2025: Sponsoring 3 interns enrolling in ENVS 84
- Winter 2026: Sponsoring 3 interns enrolling in ENVS 84
- Spring 2026: Sponsoring 3 interns enrolling in ENVS 84
Agency Description:
The Real Food Calculator is a revolutionary tool students use to audit their campus’ dining purchases. We leverage the collective strength of student organizing to direct the wealth of universities away from corporate food contracts and towards regional, sustainable, BIPOC producers. The Real Food Calculator team is part of the student-led Food Systems Working Group at the Center for Agroecology and collaborates with UCSC Dining Services and the Office of Sustainability. Visit our website for more info about the Real Food Challenge.
Intern Responsibilities:
Want to find out where your food comes from and where your money goes? We are a very cool team of student researchers looking for three people to help us assess every product served in UCSC’s dining halls along five dimensions: Local & Community Based Economies, Environmental Sustainability, Valued Workforce, Animal Welfare, Community Health & Nutrition. Interns will join an existing team of student staff to research products through vendor databases, potentially contact vendors for more detailed sustainability practices, and enter data into the Real Food Calculator spreadsheet.
Preferred Qualities:
Must be detail oriented and familiar with using spreadsheets
Intern Shifts:
Shifts are flexible; at least one in-person weekly meeting or shift is required a week. Time & place determined based on student team’s schedules.
Location:
Hybrid Work (In-person and remote work). On-campus meeting location varies each quarter
Key Words: Agroecology/Food Systems, Climate Change, Economics, Enviro Justice/Social Movements