Good Food Jobs

Taylor Cocalis’s motivation for founding goodfoodjobs.com with her friend Dorothy Neagle was a simple one. “We wanted to change the world before the world changed us,” Taylor told a group of undergraduates at Thursday afternoon’s Good Food Jobs event, sponsored by the YSFP with the help of Undergraduate Career Services. In their hour-long presentation, Taylor and Dorothy outlined a set of simple and practical tips for finding your place in the food movement, both over the summer and after graduation. Suggestions included making a 5-year plan, joining the food community through whatever avenues are available, being assertive, and working for free (if you have to). They emphasized the food world’s low barrier of entry, encouraging interested undergrads to try everything — cook, farm, volunteer, research, intern, read and contribute to blogs, make connections, facebook stalk, follow up. Specifically tailored to the student audience was the encouragement to make use of winter and spring breaks and reach out to Yale alumni in the field.

After Taylor and Dorothy finished, the YSFP’s own Jacquie Lewin and a few other students shared their experiences with WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), through which travelers are given room and board on a farm in exchange for work. Zan Romanoff was also on hand to discuss the YSFP’s Summer Farm Internship and leading Harvest pre-orientation trips, both of which are now accepting applications.