at SoFAB

Here at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, we offer unpaid internships for both graduate and undergraduate students. These internships can be filled year-round, and we fully cooperate with the student’s institution to fulfill credit requirements. We are flexible with both the duration and start dates of these internships. As the museum has a small staff, all interns will be able to participate in a variety of activities,  and will be given the opportunity to direct the course of their projects. The following internship descriptions are very basic, and each one can be tailored to suit the needs and curiosities of each student.

FOR SUMMER/FALL 2013 INTERNSHIPS: Please note that the museum is currently closed to the public because we are in the process of moving to a new location. The internship program will be different during the 2013 Summer and Fall semesters and not all regular internship positions may be available.  Contact Lucy (lucy@southernfood.org) for specific information.

Collections Internship: This internship will have the student focus on building and organizing our archives, library, and artifact base. This includes working with our current collections data base to catalog new artifacts, research to properly identify and catalog items, and other projects as they come up.

Marketing Internship: Specific projects will be assigned to market different aspects of the museum, including the gift shop, our programs, membership drives, and special events. The student will use various social media as well as our website to put together a comprehensive marketing effort.

Curatorial Internship: This internship will concentrate on creating and putting together new exhibits, as well as maintaining and enhancing current exhibits. The student will have to research the topic, contact appropriate people and institutions for artifacts and information, and then put it all together in a public exhibit.

Development Internship: SoFAB development interns enjoy an intensive experience and have the opportunity to employ several of a wide array of fundraising techniques, including campaign planning and execution, corporate sponsorship, grants research and proposal preparation, membership cultivation, and special events management. Interns also directly support SoFAB’s fundraising activities, with an emphasis on new and emerging methods, from cultivating supporters via social media to staging online fundraising events. Development internships are available in both New Orleans and Los Angeles.

Public Health Internship: Each summer SoFAB hosts a Culinary Camp for Kids where we teach nutrition and cooking. The camp is free and is in support of urban underserved children who can best be served by nutrition and cooking programs. The intern will work with the camp director directly with the kids.

Public History Intern: The museum has a large and ever expanding public history collection, and this internship focuses on documenting the currently practiced cultural foodways through menus, artifacts, archival material, photos, and various other items.

Media Production Internship: A SoFAB Media internship encompasses tasks supporting the development and production of motion pictures, both documentary and narrative, television programs, new media content, and interactive digital media. Media internships provide a broad experience for those interested in all aspects of production, including content development, resource development, editing, sound recording, video production, and small business administration. Media internships are available in both New Orleans and Los Angeles.

Business and Retail Internships: SoFAB also has a gift shop for those interested in getting real world experience with businesses and retail shops. We have a few different projects for a business intern to work on, from developing a robust consignment catalog of high end appliances, artisan and vintage kitchen items to researching and setting up a new inventory system.

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To apply for these internships, please send an email with the subject INTERNSHIP that includes a short statement of interest (250 words or less) and your resume to Lucy Rosenbloom (lucy@southernfood.org).

We have hosted interns from schools all over the country, including Yale University, Tulane University, University of Toronto, Duke University, University of New Orleans, and Southern University of New Orleans. This is a unique opportunity to learn more about the culture of the South through food and beverage, as well as a chance for you to see how a small but growing museum functions at the day to day level.