by way of Brene Brown’s Instagram account, that 'Carl Jung called the paradox one of our most valued spiritual possessions and a great witness to the truth. He wrote, “Only the paradox comes anywhere near to comprehending the fullness of life.”'
 
With the truth of paradox in mind, we can’t help but feel a sense of awe and deep respect for the paradox that Americorps service membership embodies, as attested to in the many emails we received from former service members.
 
We learned from your stories that Americorps service provides once-in-a-lifetime benefits that center around three things: access to work for people who are in need of a job, empathy for those who live in poverty or have been otherwise marginalized, and opportunities for deep connection, both among fellow service members, and in the future opportunities opened up for building a career beyond Americorps. 

Through the words of those who shared their stories with us, we have looked closely at each of these benefits, and how the paradox within them informed our conclusion that an Americorps service membership is not, at this time, a Good Food Job. We hope you'll find their words as poignant and powerful as we did.
 
Empathy
 
As one service member pointed out, "It is dishonest to claim that spending a year or two ‘poor’ teaches someone what it is like to live in generational poverty. Nonprofits need to be run by people who fundamentally understand the challenges that are faced by the community that they serve. This can only be accomplished by hiring people from their served community to positions within the organization."

This reminded us of Molly Worthen's recent question in the New York Times, "When we attempt to step into the shoes of those very different from us, do we do more harm than good?" 

We are always interested in thinking about things differently, and challenging our own assumptions. I don't think we'll ever be convinced that empathy isn't important, but it was worthwhile to consider that it is one component of continuous learning, not a finish line that we can aim to reach, or an accomplishment that we can list on a future resume. With the possible exception of volunteer work, empathy by itself does not satisfy the hunger for meaningful work.
 
Connection
 
Access to opportunities is the very reason that we no longer post unpaid internships – because the people who can afford to ‘get ahead’ by taking an unpaid job are the same people who already have disproportionate access to advancement. The cycle has to be broken somewhere, and repaired through new standards for how we compensate labor.

Because of the low living stipends associated with Americorps, service members typically have to work additional jobs or receive support from family in order to complete the one-year service term. So although it does provide unique opportunities, and a variety of innovative benefits, it operates within a system that continues to provide access to the select few who can afford it, which leads to further connections and advancements for those same people. 

Finally, it's not only the barriers to entry that promote inequitable systems, but what happens after completion of service: as one service member shared, "When I go to submit my loan payments using my education award, I have to certify that, "I have not been convicted, since the completion of my term of service or receipt of my transferred award amount, of the possession or sale of a controlled substance." *

*If you’re not aware of how convictions for drug-related offenses lead to more Black Americans in our prison system, even though people of every color participate in drug use in equal proportion, you might want to check out The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander.
 
Access
 
Even if we were to view the empathy and connection that Americorps service membership provides, on their own, in an entirely positive light, there is still the issue of wages. Wages seem to be the most fundamental barrier to equity in jobs that provide unique opportunities for advancement. 

We don't think it's a coincidence that it was also the number one issue former service members talked about when they shared their experiences. They said it far better than we could:

"Would someone who grew up in poverty want to then work for poverty level wages when they could get a better paying job somewhere else?"
 
"Myself and my peers have been trapped in a cycle of volunteerism: we will never get enough experience to get paid a livable wage if we keep accepting positions that undermine the value of our labor."
 
"Because it's impossible to save money while working with this program, it's very easy to do another service year if you do not have higher-paying prospects at the end of your term - this is something that perpetuates poverty instead of alleviating it."
 
"Labor creates all wealth and should be compensated."
 
Where do we go from here?
 
Many of those who wrote in had thoughtful suggestions for how to promote Americorps positions on GFJ without confusing them with paid jobs: creating a separate page for listing Americorps positions, or even a separate page for ‘service’ positions, overall; keeping the positions among our listings, but communicating more clearly about how they are compensated; directing our energy toward advocating for better funding and better pay for Americorps positions, without removing them entirely from the GFJ job board.
 
All of these are valued ideas. It is part of our promise to you that we keep growing GFJ as a resource through web-based innovation and improvement, as well as policy change.

But there is a big secret behind the emerald curtain over here: in our position of relative power as business owners, we face a great deal of uncertainty. And uncertainty is not a trait, or condition, that our society traditionally values. America values confidence, and decisive action. Those are good things, also, but we find ourselves thinking about how rare it is to look at what is behind the confident decisions. We find, more and more, that if we have the confidence to dwell in uncertainty, rather than plowing ahead with a decision, the heart of what we are looking for will be easier to detect. The truth in paradox will reveal itself, and the path forward will follow.

In our case, the path forward is about emphasizing the need for valuing the labor that allows our country to function in all of the other ways that we so value. Hourly or salaried wages define what a good food job is, and this cultural shift continues to push us toward the underlying goal of both re-humanizing the hiring experience and redefining a successful career path.

Thank you for listening, sharing, and being a part of this community. GFJ is all of you - and if you’re thinking that you’re still not represented in this community, please get in touch and share your voice. 

In food, justice, and food justice, 

Dor + Tay

photo by Alexa Romano