 |
| ISSUE NO. 565 |
| IT IS OFFICIALLY SUMMER... Every year in the dark days of Winter we dream of Summer. We think of how grand it will be when it's warm and the garden is bursting and we can be social in the long evening light. But fast forward to Summer and we feel an intensity of exhaustion - a combination of heat waves, rampant weeds, later bedtimes, a more round-the-clock social schedule, and less consistent childcare. And all the while, work keeps moving. In fact, for many of us in the field of food, work is more busy this time of year than ever - something that we feel ever more acutely during 'holiday' weekends. While we generally love the idea behind taking time to honor and celebrate milestones, and we appreciate an excuse to gather together, we can't help but feel like most 'holidays' have morphed from a chance to rest and reflect into an excuse to consume and capitalize. And while we don't blame any businesses that need to rely on a boom in business to keep them afloat, from a professional standpoint, we've come to resent the expectation that when it is a holiday, a business is expected to stay open longer, to serve the throngs of folks who have the day off. The disparities of the service industry are laid bare once again: when most people have a day off, service workers experience their hardest, longest days on the job. We applaud and appreciate the words and sentiment in the Cafe con Libros newsletter, and we wish you some restful and joyful afternoons off. We all deserve to slow down. Speaking of slowing down, we at Good Food Jobs are feeling the compounding weight of the last 16 months. The bulk of the day-to-day work here is done by 4 women, with 6 children between us. As mothers who work from home, we are grateful to be able to bend and flex our schedules throughout the pandemic where necessary to accommodate the ever-changing flow of childcare - if you've ever had your job approved or emails answered at 10 PM, it's because we are committed to getting back to everyone each day. But sometimes we just can't complete it all until after bedtime. At this moment in the very beginning of the summer season, we are recognizing our need to set a boundary against overwhelm, and carve out space for rest and fun. Our job search engine will continue to run as usual, but we'll be taking a break from our weekly newsletter for the 5 Tuesdays in August. We'll miss you, but we'll also appreciate the rest and the joy, and the opportunity to feel energized when we resume in September. Yours in food, justice, and food justice, |
tidbits...resources on anti-racism, environmentalism and food culture AKA stuff we're reading / listening to / watching / noticing / thinking about / captivated by this Tuesday . . . |
 |