The GW Career Center is offering a food studies program for students interested in food service careers and policy issues.

The program will provide students with knowledge in specific areas of food studies, including the social, political, economic, historical and cultural background of food services, according to a Career Center course description.

Administrative Coordinator Amy Renshaw said the program, which began last summer, will focus mainly on food regulation and policy. As a result, many people in the program will seek a government position to influence the food industry – not from the kitchen, but from the Hill.

Program developers said they hope to attract a variety of people, including nutritionists, educators, specialists working for trade associations and food businesses. The program also will benefit students seeking employment with government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration, Renshaw said.

“The program has a large contingent of people who have already been working as chefs, caterers or managers and who wish to take their knowledge of the food industry to the next level and learn more about how they can participate in food regulations and policy making,” Renshaw said.

Food studies courses will include food safety, trends, regulation and policy. Undergraduate seniors and all graduate students qualify for the food studies courses.

Designed to be “convenient for the busy working adult,” classes only meet one evening a week for eight weeks, Renshaw said.

The program started at Mount Vernon College when the school was independent of GW. When the women’s college merged with GW, the Career Center took over the food studies courses.

The fall session will begin later this month and will end in November, but no specific dates have been set.