We came across an article about Kendall in a small, local food journal published near Charlottesville, Virginia, and were instantly inspired, without even meeting her. Kendall was a student at the University of Virginia when she saw the potential for change in her campus dining halls, and essentially created a job for herself by heading up an effort to transform them. We're pretty sure she's leading the way for what will eventually become the norm in campus eateries everywhere.

What attracted you to a good food job?

I first became interested in and involved with Dining Services out of a concern for the waste that a university dining operation created.  I quickly began to realize that the inputs (the food) were just as, if not more, important in evaluating a dining program's environmental footprint.  Right around the same time I became a more active participant in Charlottesville's local food movement, and through frequenting farmers markets and befriending producers, I came to see that the heart of this movement was about building communities.  Once I had found a niche in that emerging community, there was no going back.

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

My experience as a student at UVA was good preparation for my job today: I'm not so far removed from understanding what gets them excited and passionate, and how to channel that enthusiasm towards effecting positive changes in our dining program.  Additionally, spending a season working on a small, family-run organic vegetable farm was an invaluable experience in learning about the nitty gritty details of stewarding the land and nourishing people, work that had previously been largely theoretical to me.  I certainly don't take food for granted or view it the same way after having been one of the laborers actually harvesting the bounty out in the field for those eight months.

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

Be willing to get your hands dirty!  Knowing at least something about food cultivation is crucial in this field.

Secondly, simply by being an active member of your local food community, you'll meet lots of like-minded people.  Keep in touch with them ? you never know when those contacts might come in handy, be it as a reference or even job-offer-er.

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

I'd love to be compensated with a chance to travel and explore farmland and food communities throughout the world.  Getting to see and experience such a wide array of production methods and exotic tastes would be an unparalled source of inspiration ? though I might not make it back home!