Below are several resources to get you started. Because I live in the Greater Boston, Massachusetts area, you will notice that many of the resources may be focused on the northeast region of the U.S., although not all of them are.
Resources for sustainable food-related jobs and opportunities:
- Good Food Jobs
- BostonEco on Facebook and on Twitter
- Real Food Challenge Alumni Network (even if you were not previously involved with the Real Food Challenge)
- Listservs, such as:
General listings that may include opportunities related to sustainable food:
Interested in farming? Farm positions may be found in the resources listed above. However, here are some farm-specific links:
- Eastern Massachusetts CRAFT listserv (and additional resources recommended by emasscraft here)
- ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service - Sustainable Farming Internships and Apprenticeships
- NOFA Directory of Organic Farming Apprenticeship Programs
- Volunteer through WWOOF: World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (read about my experience WWOOFing)
Additional suggestions:
- Get on LinkedIn
- Visit individual websites of farms, companies, and organizations to find postings
- Contact a farm, company, or organization that interests you, asking if they have any job and/or volunteer opportunities
- You may find opportunities through social media, such as Facebook and Twitter
- Consider doing a paid or unpaid internship
- Volunteer! For example, with a local Slow Food chapter, a local farm or farmers market, and more
- Meet, talk, and network with people through everyday conversations, events, conferences, and even Meetup groups, such as The Urban Homesteaders' League based in Greater Boston
- Let people know that you are looking for opportunities to get involved. This can include friends, family, mentors, past and present colleagues, and more
- Take classes (the Boston Natural Areas Network, for instance, offers gardening education)
- Start your own business (this may seem a bit daunting, and will of course require some thought and planning. However, if the job that you would like is not out there, why not create it?) Read these articles: Forget a desk job: Young foodies are betting that their bright ideas are their ticket out of the rat race, and Boston food entrepreneurs: Food fighters who are uprooting an empire. One local resource is Boston Young Entrepreneurs.
Remember, these are just a few resources to get you started. If you know of any other helpful resources, please share!
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