Celebrating 10 Years of the Fellows Program: Maggie Kraft

Maggie Kraft
Fellow from July 2016 to June 2017, based in Seattle

Bon Appétit campus attended: Colorado College

Current job: Waste Specialist for Bon Appétit

How did the Fellowship shape your career choices? The Fellowship was where I was first introduced to waste on a larger scale. In particular, my Fellow research project on food recovery initiatives led to a greater interest in waste programs and to land my current role as part of Bon Appétit’s waste team.

Memorable experience as a Fellow: After one of my early stories Behind the Food presentations,  I was approached by a student who thanked me for my presentation and shared that what she had learned had inspired her to reconsider her major and future career. She had been vacillating between majors and the presentation convinced her that she wanted to seriously consider environmental studies and find a future career that focused on food systems and sustainability. That interaction reminded me how much of an impact we can have — often without even realizing it.

Any advice for current food-activist students? Form partnerships with different groups on campus, from food service to facilities. You never know where you might find allies for your cause! The more you are able to institute changes and systems into the structure of the campus by working with different groups, the more likely that the changes you are working towards will outlast your time as a student. Even when it feels slow or cumbersome, it is worth the work.

Read more Fellows 10th Anniversary interviews: