Bon Appétit Management Company

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There wasn’t just one thing that drew me into food systems work, it was a culmination of all my previous passions, starting with horses.  

For almost two decades, my grandparents owned a 50-acre farm in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. The land had open pasture, dense woods, and manicured gardens that my grandmother dutifully maintained. I adored every part of that farm, especially the herd of horses my grandparents cared for. They were untrained and dirty, but during twice-annual visits, I spent all my time in the pasture. I grew up alongside them. My friendship with these horses led to countless horse-centric camps, horse-themed birthday parties, and riding lessons back home in St Louis, Missouri.  

Horse Girl, Continued 

Throughout middle and high school, I rode at a ranch that rescued abused and neglected horses. My riding lessons evolved into vet care and physical therapy for injured horses, then to training and rehabilitating the traumatized, then to volunteering my weekends and summers to shovel muck, string fences, and roll hay bales. I fell in love with hard labor and farm work.  

Heading into college, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to study, but I knew I wanted to be able to ride horses, access natural areas, and get out of Missouri. St Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota won me over with its friendly faces and proximity to natural lands, farms, and equestrian facilities.  

While touring the school, I met with an equestrian club member who recommended that I apply for a Conversation program at St Olaf – learning communities organized around an overarching topic. I applied to the Environmental Conversation program (EnCon) – which tackles questions regarding the relationships between humans and nature. Ironically, I attended one meeting for the equestrian club during freshman year and never went back. EnCon changed my trajectory.  

During one of my EnCon classes, my professor brought in a panel of local farmers to share their stories with our class. I ended up getting lunch with one of these farmers, asking endless questions about the strategies involved in ethically raising cattle. They offered me a tour, and I offered them my time on weekends to help them tend the cattle and train their horses; it was a perfect fit! But that was March 2020, and after barely two months on that ranch, I had to pack up my entire life at St Olaf and head back to St Louis, mourning the loss of my first year of college. 

College, Interrupted 

Remote learning during COVID was miserable. I should’ve been grateful to return to campus, but I (like everyone else) was trapped in my dorm room. On top of that, I was taking classes on environmental justice and ecology, feeling powerless and stir-crazy. I decided to take a leave of absence for the spring of my sophomore year, returning to the rescue farm I worked at in high school. This gave me comfort and stability during a tumultuous time in my life. 

I spent that time looking for opportunities that would inspire my growing passion for sustainable food systems and wound up at Zumwalt Acres in rural Illinois. Here, I spent the summer studying carbon capture and regenerative agriculture while building community with other passionate young folks. After returning to St Olaf, I accepted an internship at a local winery to explore another form of agriculture. During the month of January, I pruned grapevines in -20°F and connected with wineries throughout Minnesota. By the end of these experiences, I realized I could no longer separate myself from food systems work.  

The Fellowship 

During my internship at the winery, I stumbled across an application for a position on St Olaf’s campus farm, STOGROW. Finally, I had an opportunity to witness every step of the farming process, from choosing seeds, to building raised beds, establishing perennials, tracking our budget, and connecting with the campus community. This felt like the ultimate culmination of all my past experiences, until I met Bon Appétit’s Central Region Sustainability Fellow, Elise Kulers, in the Spring of 2022, and learned what was possible after college.  

As I showed Elise the STOGROW farm and connected with her over her role as a Fellow, I remember thinking to myself; “Now this is a job I could see myself doing.” I could see myself sharing the knowledge and passion I had spent most of my life building, learning from other campus communities, local farmers, and a sustainably focused company, and engaging diverse audiences with difficult questions of environmental responsibility.  

Now I am here, feeling incredibly lucky, a little intimidated, and more than anything, excited to start exploring this next part of my food systems journey. I can’t wait to see where the fellowship takes me.  

 

 

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