I’m only a little embarrassed to admit that Good Food Jobs is always on my top 10 most-visited websites. It’s not that I’m constantly searching for jobs; I just like to glance at postings to get a sense of what’s out there. And with the exception of that dark period where I served beer in a dirndl T-shirt, I’ve gotten every single food-related job I’ve ever had through their site.
So when they posted about a four-day practicum starting on September 17 that includes visits to a renewable energy education center, a bit of farm work, a composting workshop and the construction of a rain catchment system, it caught my attention. “Just because you work in food doesn’t mean you have to work with food,” co-founders Taylor Cocalis and Dorothy Neagle say. “Part of the motivation [for this practicum] was that, in our culture, if you say you want to work in food or people know you have an interest in food, people think you want to go to culinary school.” But their website proves that culinary school is no longer the only path; of the eight job type categories on their website, agriculture gets some of the heaviest traffic.
The practicum, entitled “Everything but The Kitchen: A Comprehensive Engagement with the Regional Food System,” is an opportunity to see some of the sustainability initiatives you’re always reading about in action. You’ll learn about seed-saving, edible forestry and water management from people who practice what they preach. For more information on the farmers and teachers you’ll meet, check out these blog posts on Roost ‘n Roots Farm and the program director of Eco Practicum, their partner organization for the weekend.
Scholarships are still available. To apply for need-based aid, send them a brief letter that includes the amount of scholarship money you’re requesting and what you’re hoping to gain from the practicum. Snail mail it to 19 Terrace Drive in Hastings-on-Hudson by Saturday to ensure your letter makes it upstate in time for the Monday deadline. Missed the deadline? Full-priced tickets will be available starting June 23.
