 | | Words of Wisdom by Good Food Jobs |
Work is love made visible. – Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
A gathering chorus of voices is calling for “sustainable” food. The word points towards a fundamental shift in the way we do things, but it’s tough for one word to shoulder it all. It’s a feeling in our gut: Our food – that which nourishes us – could be better. Collectively, we’re creating demand for food produced in a way that replenishes our resources, rather than exhausts them. And as Taylor Cocalis, co-founder of Good Food Jobs, recently wrote to owners of small farms and food companies, “Human resources are the most important resources you have.” Guided by the idea of sustainability in all aspects of food – including work — Down to Earth Markets is delighted to announce a new collaboration with Good Food Jobs, the website where job seekers go “to satisfy the hunger for meaningful work.” Now farmers and food makers who sell at Down to Earth Markets can post their job listings on Good Food Jobs at a deeply discounted rate. In turn, the job listings (often for weekend help at the markets) are viewed by thousands of potential workers who are passionate about better food. Doug Ornstein, Assistant Operations Manager at Down to Earth Markets and the catalyst behind the collaboration, came up with the idea while vetting applications for market managers this season. “There are so many smart, passionate, and talented people who want to work in sustainable food that I thought our vendors should work with some of them, too,” he explained. “I believe that the crucial next step in fixing the broken food system is to create a different kind of food economy – one with meaningful jobs,” he elaborated, “If waves of people start working in good food that will instigate the kind of change in food that we’re looking for.” Dorothy Williams-Neagle, co-founder of Good Food Jobs, spoke along these lines as well, “We know that the farmers market is a hotbed of folks who are transforming our food system for the better. We wanted to provide an opportunity for them to spread the word about their job openings more affordably and effectively. For us, it was as simple connecting the resources we are able to provide to the needs of those vendors whose work we support wholeheartedly.” With Good Food Jobs, Taylor and Dorothy make the path by walking on the topic of sustainable food and work. They stirred debate earlier this year with an announcement that they would no longer post unpaid internships on their site. In explaining their decision, they said that money isn’t the only kind of compensation needed for work. Rather, employers could offer room and board, products, or other items as compensation. They opened the conversation about the value of work. Taylor has since noted that some small business owners replied, “But what if we can’t afford to pay someone in this position now?” She responded, “A paid employee [not just by money] that you can retain for years will become a far more valuable asset than a revolving door of interns.” She went on to say that if work is consistently done without compensation of any kind, then there is a fundamental flaw in the company business plan. We 100% agree with this view of sustainability in work. Down to Earth Markets is a small business that believes in order to have sustainable food, we have to have sustainable businesses. We have five full-time employees and two part-time employees who support approximately 15 market managers and 100 vendors. We can create livelihoods in this work. With this collaboration with Good Food Jobs, that is exactly what we’re setting out to do. We’d love to hear your feedback on this. Reply to this email and let us know your thoughts on the topic of work and sustainable food. And if you stroll the market and think, “it should be nice to work here,” just click on this link to see if there’s an opportunity with your favorite vendor. Thank you for shopping at Down to Earth Farmers Markets this weekend. | 
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