Many of us have survived growing up under the refrain 'eat your vegetables', only to blossom into voracious consumers of broccoli. Was it because that line ate its way into our childhood subconscious until it would ultimately influence our adult decision-making? Or is it just because broccoli tastes so good? Mickey is arguing for the latter, and we have the feeling that she doesn't come across many fruit-and-vegetable-phobes who can resist her propaganda.

When did you know that you wanted to work in food?

I jumped on this bandwagon at a pretty young age. I did a school report in 7th grade about the childhood obesity crisis in our country, and it really shocked me. While starting various "health clubs" and boycotting candy fundraisers in middle school and high school, I read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and realized the larger picture of our nation's food crisis, and began to see that solutions to so many problems fell in the local food movement. I studied Nutrition Science in college, and involved myself with food awareness, sustainability, health, wellness and physical activity groups in Berkeley. I think I gained the most valuable experiences from college by running a weekly campus produce stand (called the Local). A group of us would go to the local farmers market every weekend and buy surplus goods from the farmers, then sell them on campus the next day at no mark-up. I learned a ton about produce marketing and storage, and became familiar with that awesome feeling of feeding people real food.

How did you get your current good food job?

I was about to graduate from college, and was casting a broad net for a job that involved bringing healthy, fresh, sustainable food to people. I also was very interested in moving off the west coast and living in a new city, so I was checking Good Food Jobs multiple times a day to see what my options were! It was difficult to search for jobs so many months in advance, and in a place hundreds of miles away, but I lucked out with Greene Grape. They were looking for someone to work on sourcing their produce locally and working directly with farmers. It was a perfect fit!

How did your previous work or life experience prepare you for a good food job?

I had spent several summers working on farms, running produce stands on my college campus, and selling fruit at farmers' markets. I studied nutrition science in school, so I had a wealth of academic and practical knowledge about nutrients, plants, and the problems in our food system, along with a total passion for delicious fruit and vegetables! Really my whole life has centered around great produce and getting people to eat it, so it was a natural transition to start working in a produce department.

What was the greatest obstacle you had to overcome in pursuing your Good Food Job dream?

Honestly, the people I work with have made this job a dream. The business is progressive and committed to quality and integrity. My boss and co-workers are supportive and excited to make everything better and better. Our customers are thoughtful and loyal, and appreciate the extra lengths we go through to bring them the best. I wish there were more stores out there like the Greene Grape!

What can you identify as the greatest opportunities in food right now?

I feel like there is a great need for small distributors. There are plenty of small farms and artisan food makers creating high quality products, and a huge base of customers who want desperately to buy these products and support these people in their craft. From what I have seen, farmers are extremely stretched for time trying to grow their produce, then also pack, transport, market and distribute it. It would be ideal if there were more small distributors to take the stress off these individual farmers and allow them to focus on farming. In a perfect world, governments would support this kind of thing - it would be one of the best ways to encourage more environmentally friendly farming practices, foster the growth of small business, create jobs, and prevent chronic disease. I think if governments could support more connectors from the artisans and farmers who are creating Good Food Products to the customers who want these goods, it could help keep prices down and create access to real food, which is what we all should be eating anyway.

If you could be compensated for your work with something other than money, what would it be?

Apples. 50% of my diet. Easily.