When we consider the benefits of shopping at farmers' markets, we immediately experience a flood of good things - the quiet, cold mornings when you make it to the market before anyone else does, the site of a season's first purple-y green asparagus tips or strawberries that shine like patent leather, the faces of vendors and shoppers that you recognize week after week. Believe it or not, it is actually Brittany's job (both as a student, advocate, and Programs Coordinator for Bowling Green's Community Farmers' Market) to teach others about these benefits, and so many more that come from eating fresh, local food.

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

In May of 2011, I was standing in the middle of a market in Montepulciano, Italy, just observing what seemed to be an entire town shopping at the market that day for their food.  It got me thinking about the markets I was familiar with back in the states.  The ones I had always visited in Bowling Green, Kentucky were primarily filled with white, affluent shoppers.  I realized right then that that was no longer acceptable to me. Local, fresh foods should not be a luxury or privilege.  I returned to Kentucky, started my Master's program, and decided that I wanted to focus on food access at farmers' markets.

How did you get your current good food job?

I am a very determined person, so when I decided that I wanted to work with food access, I simply just started doing it.  Since my full-time job is at the Center for Community Partnerships for Western Kentucky University, the first thing I did was to identify potential partners that would be willing to assist me in working toward local food access for everyone.  I partnered with Community Farmers' Market (CFM) in Bowling Green to conduct some research on the benefits of and barriers to shopping at farmers' markets.  With this initial partnership came the opportunity for me to be the WIC and Senior Nutrition Farmers' Market Voucher Programs coordinator for the market.  I was then invited into the group that wrote the "Local Food for Everyone" USDA Farmers' Market Promotion Grant that CFM received.  I was included in the grant as the community outreach coordinator tasked with editing for the local food publication, eat., overseeing the mobile market, creating and compiling training materials for SNAP, WIC, and Senior Nutrition, and facilitating partnerships with anyone interested in working together to promote local food for everyone.

I am currently obtaining my Master's degree in Social Responsibility and Sustainable Communities.  My research and subsequent thesis are on the benefits of shopping at farmers' markets.  Through the university, I have discovered a number of people (my thesis chairperson in particular) that are also interested in the type of work I am conducting and want to get involved.

I have learned that being proactive and not afraid of rejection is the best way to be effective in this work.  In addition, having close partners and friends that also have the same passions is key to this work being successful.  I could not do anything I am doing right now without my dear friend, colleague, farmer, and vendor at CFM Michelle Howell.

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

My grandfather still farms 100 acres in rural northwestern Ohio, and my father works in agriculture.  Growing up, I scoffed at the idea of agriculture and farming.  I hated getting my hands dirty.  I did not want to help my mom with our garden. I grew up thinking that farming was a man's job (how wrong was I?).  But then I watched Food, Inc. and realized the problems in industrialized agriculture (sentiments later echoed in the documentary King Corn, and in the books In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, and Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community by Wendell Berry which also greatly affected me).  I felt this longing deep within me to learn more about industrial agriculture versus local agriculture.  I started to realize that there were some enormous issues in the agricultural system - which resulted in many lively discussions with my father who works for one of the largest agriculture companies in the world. I realized the amount of fossil fuels I was wasting when I bought my apple at the grocery store after it had traveled to Kentucky from thousands of miles away. I realized that our food system has a ripple effect into every other area of the environment. And, I realized I could be an active agent in changing food systems.

I started eating locally grown and produced foods.  My husband and I started gardening.  We joined a CSA.  I realized how amazing I felt when I ate whole, real foods.  At the same time, I became saddened because I realized there are so many people that did not have the privileges I did; that were unable to purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables; that struggled to put food of any kind on the table, let alone healthy foods.  I knew that I could not spend the rest of my life just doing any job - I knew that I wanted to, had to work in food access.

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

Getting people interested in local food and food access has been by far the biggest obstacle to overcome. While I have loved growing up in a small city in the South (Bowling Green has about 60,000 people), there seems to be a conflict between our rich agricultural heritage and the desire to support local, small farms and farmers' markets. Convincing people to eat local is another idea that is just now gaining some ground.  Bowling Green has more restaurants (mostly chain) per capita than anywhere else in the United States with the exception of San Francisco, so there are not enough locally-sourced, healthy restaurants currently in town.  But, we are gaining momentum quickly.  A friend of mine, Josh Poling, opened Home Café and Marketplace (where he is head chef) a little over a year ago.  He serves as many locally sourced items as possible and does so with chef-inspired dishes that are transforming the Bowling Green food scene.  There really are so many amazing things happening here (we had a wonderful celebration of Food Day this year, with a day-long conference, meet your farmers night, and a farm elegant local dinner), and some wonderful people (farmers, chefs, community members, and foodies like me) that are changing the perception of local food in South Central Kentucky.  We have come so far yet still have so much more to achieve.

As far as pursuing my Good Food Job dream goes, I believe that overcoming the obstacles in Bowling Green have prepared me to tackle an even bigger challenge in my upcoming move to New York City.  I am looking forward to taking what I have learned in my hometown and spreading it to even more people.  This move will provide me the opportunity to work with food access in an area where I can help far more people who face food insecurities.

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

Obviously I feel that local food access for all people is one of the greatest opportunities and is beneficial to everyone on the food continuum - to producers and consumers.  Being healthy has never been more important and providing local fruits and vegetables to as many people as possible is one of many ways that we can promote healthy initiatives.

Also, Bowling Green is home to a large refugee population.  And, because the refugees only have access to a limited public transportation system, the majority of the refugee community obtains their groceries at big box stores - instead of the farmers' markets.  Not only are they completely out of their element at those stores, many of the refugees are developing poor dietary habits leading to an alarming increase in weight gain due to the consumption of processed foods.  CFM is aware of this trend, and we are in the process of developing a refugee voucher program, which allows refugees to shop at the market free of charge while simultaneously remaining economically viable for farmers and vendors.  The program is still in the development phases but I am hopeful and excited about what it can provide to the Bowling Green community.

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

Of course for me, food would be an obvious answer, but it's narrowing it down to specific foods that is a bit more difficult.  I think a weekly CSA box, Jeni's ice cream, cheese (any kind), and Italian and French wines would be excellent payment.  In fact, I might just ask if I can I take those items over monetary payment at my next job.