The Food Leaders Fellowship is run by the Aspen Institute’s Food & Society program and, since its 2022 launch, has grown into a community of early-career leaders working toward a fair, sustainable, and healthy food system. Each cohort brings together changemakers, entrepreneurs, and innovators from across the food system — policy, agriculture, nutrition, technology, and more — for an 18-month journey of personal reflection and cross-sector collaboration. The program opens at the Institute’s campus in Aspen, Colorado, using its text-based seminar method, and continues through further in-person and virtual gatherings.
The fifth cohort meets in August 2026, May 2027, and February 2028. Applications for that cohort have closed; future cohorts are announced through the program newsletter.
Benefits & funding
- 18-month structured leadership journey with a peer community of food-system changemakers.
- Facilitated Aspen seminar-method sessions examining personal values, mission, and long-term impact.
- In-person residential seminars (opening at the Aspen, Colorado campus) plus virtual gatherings and site visits.
- The fellowship covers the cost of participation, including travel and accommodation for the in-person seminars; fellows pay no participation fee.
Eligibility
- Open to changemakers, entrepreneurs, and innovators in the food system with demonstrated early success.
- Candidates must be based in the United States, Mexico, or Canada.
- No specific degree is required; selection favours varied backgrounds, a collaborative mindset, and a commitment to continuous learning and long-term community involvement.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
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USA · Mexico · Canada
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Application process
- 1Watch for the next cohort’s call — join the program newsletter at aspenfood.org, as future applications are announced there.
- 2When applications open, start an application through the fellowship’s online portal.
- 3Submit responses describing your work in the food system, your goals, and your fit with the cohort’s values.
- 4Selected candidates are assembled into a cohort with deliberately varied backgrounds and perspectives.
Program timeline
Fifth-cohort application deadline (now closed)
December 5, 2025
Opening seminar, Aspen, Colorado
August 9-14, 2026
Second in-person seminar
May 5-8, 2027
Closing seminar
February 2-5, 2028
Future cohorts
announced via the program newsletter