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Internships

CISA welcomes interns to work and learn with us. Most of our internships are unpaid, but if you are a student we will work with your school to help you get credit, participate in a school-funded internship program, or earn work-study hours.

All positions are based out of CISA’s office located at One Sugarloaf Street, South Deerfield, MA 01373 (with some remote time possible). We are looking for interns who can commit up to 10 hours a week during the school year for spring and fall internships or at least 20 hours per week for summer internships.

CISA, a non-profit organization, is one of the leading ‘buy local’ organizations in the nation focused on strengthening farms and engaging the community to build the local food economy.  CISA seeks candidates for the internship listed below.  

Local Hero Program Intern: One opening 

Our Local Hero internship is a great way to learn about CISA’s work and what it takes to run a Buy Local campaign.  CISA has direct relationships with the 250 farmers and an additional 100+ businesses who are members of our Local Hero program. We will be developing promotional materials about members to connect our broader community to local farms and food businesses.  We are looking for someone organized and interested in these topics to: 

  1. Update our online guide of local food and farm; 
  2. Distribute promotional and outreach materials to member businesses and community sites;
  3. Assist in data entry and analysis of surveys from technical assistance workshops and our year-end evaluation;
  4. Write profiles of members for our website and promotional work; and
  5. Calls and outreach to Local Hero members. 

Qualifications: Skilled in conducting research, interest in local agriculture and food, comfortable talking on telephone, well-organized, ability to present data clearly, experience with Excel and/or databases, and access to transportation required (sometimes a bus schedule can work, but public transit is limited in our rural part of the state). 

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If you are interested in an internship with CISA fill out our online application. If you have questions, please contact Jennifer Williams, Office Manager. 

“Working at CISA was a very rewarding experience, and has further instilled in me the desire to improve food systems for a healthy planet. The variety of tasks I assisted on gave me an insight into the daily operations of a nonprofit working with local farms and markets, and a wonderful opportunity to be in an environment filled with people dedicated to their work in promotion and support of local food systems. The skills and knowledge I gained at CISA are important pieces to the development of my career. Thank you all so much for this opportunity!”   Natasha Cnossen, Summer 2019

“Working here has opened my eyes to the importance of local food systems and what our community can do to enhance it. The hands-on experience I have gotten has given me insight on important agricultural issues that inspire me to move forward, and under the kind, approachable staff here at CISA, I feel that my skills have improved and I am becoming more prepared for a career. Thank you, CISA!”  Kylee Denesha, Spring 2017

“I thoroughly enjoyed working as an intern at CISA. The internship allowed me to grow and advance myself as a professional when I was working with farmers’ markets. I had much support from the staff at CISA, but had opportunities to work independently. I developed strong interpersonal skills and a good sense of organization. I know I will be using everything I learned from CISA for the rest of my professional career.” Emily Cycz, Summer 2016

In accordance with Federal law and US Department of Agriculture policy, CISA is prohibited from discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC  20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).