What we love most about working in food is the fact that there is not just one way to go about it.  This can be a blessing and a curse. It can be paralyzing or endlessly enlightening, depending on what you make of it.  But Stacey shows us the brighter side.  We first crossed paths with her when she was a freelance writer, in search of some facts for a piece on stinky cheese.  Then we ran into her up at Stone Barns where she helped craft the F.A.R.M.S. training manual.  And now, we can count her as one of our clients, since she recently posted a job through her new gig at Steve's Craft Ice Cream.  It may not have been an obvious career trajectory, but it's one that helped her to amass contacts, experience, and insight about what she wants from her good food job.

What attracted you to a good food job?

For a senior project in high school, I worked in a catering kitchen in Boston, MA. The experience was stimulating, intense, grueling, and physically demanding. By college, I took more interest in eating at restaurants than working in one-the thought of culinary school intimidated me rather than enticed me. But I think it was really during my time as an editorial assistant at Zagat Survey that I began to care more about the issues with producing "good" food than actually finding the newest restaurants to try.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to write a few pieces about cooking with ingredients found at the Union Square Market for Mark Bittman's blog, "Bitten." It was through that exercise, and his introduction to Paula Crossfield at Civil Eats (the blog that I am now deputy editor of), that I began to focus my interest on local food economies: how they work, who benefits, where the weaknesses still lie, how we can make them stronger and more accessible to all people, what it means for a community to be less dependent on big food corporations-and thereby more in touch with the their food and the land.

My interest in local food is in forming relationships with people whom I respect, and strengthening the system through my own curiosities and skill sets. I am young, have a lot of energy, and am extremely passionate and impressionable; "work" in this industry is my long-term investment in the communities that I am a part of. That's what Im interested in: being useful to other people and enjoying the work that I do. I strengthen this goal through writing about food issues on Civil Eats and working for Steve's Ice Cream, which is a small company that fosters a self-starter attitude and the freedom to incorporate personal interests and curiosities into every day work.

How did you get your current good food job?

I have been using Good Food Jobs since the day it launched but I actually got my current position after meeting my boss at an engagement party, where he brought samples of our ice cream for the guests. It's always a pleasure to talk about food and that's what we did-for about an hour. I spoke about my interest in waste management and food redistribution and he spoke about Steve's, a start-up, local ice cream company that was looking for an enthusiastic person to manage their Brooklyn store! So we found a relationship that's working: I will be operating our store (once construction is complete), managing our staff, and implementing a food redistribution program for our unsold baked goods.

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

I worked for this past year as a freelance food writer. By nature of working alone on a series of long-term projects, I was ready and eager to work with a team again. I also have learned-through reading about food topics, listening to lectures, getting to know people in the local food movement-that I want to be an active participant in the movement to change the way we view and value food. I think, then, that life philosophy, professional drive, and a desire for personal satisfaction in my work, has prepared me well for a good food job.

What advice do you have for others in search of a good food job?

Stay curious and stay positive. Be open to different ways of achieving what you want to achieve. Believe that there is opportunity and create the chances to have conversations with people in the field. I never would have guessed that I would be working for an ice cream company but I am learning a lot about local food economies in the process.

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

A chance to learn from and work with young farmers or an opportunity to dip deeper into food recovery efforts.