Bon Appétit Management Company

Farmer Bob Knight (on right) with Bon Appétit Management Company Biola University Chefs By Vera Chang, West Coast Fellow, Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation “Farms are getting huge. Real estate is expensive in California. Farming in the global food economy requires [farmers] to have thousands of acres. Farmers that used to have 10 or 20 acres are now being pressured to buy 4,000 acres.” We are at the Bon Appétit Management Company Student Ambassador Program at Biola University, a kick-off event for thirty students to get to know some of the people behind food: Bon Appétit chefs, staff, and farmers. Executive Chef Peter Alfaro just spoke about the path that led him to work in the kitchen and his passion for making the food system more sustainable through purchases as a chef. Biology professor and head of the Biola Organic […]

By Vera Chang, West Coast Fellow, Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation US Government Wildlife A few months ago, a National Vice President of the United Farm Workers Union came to Bon Appétit’s office to discuss a potential collaboration between our organizations. In our conversation, we noted challenges we both face over the question: How can we institutionalize justice for farm workers? Vice President Erik Nicholson commented, only half jokingly, “Sometimes I wish farmworkers were salmon because then people might care enough to protect them.” His comment is worrisome because he may actually be right… Click here to read the rest of my article, 'Swimming Upstream for Farm Workers' Rights' on Triple Pundit.  

March 23-24, 2010 Boston, MA   Do you know how many tomatoes a Florida farmworker has to pick in order to fill one 32-lb bucket? Do you know how many buckets Florida farmworkers have to fill in an hour in order to make the FL minimum wage?   These were the questions I asked students at Emmanuel College (Boston, MA) and Lesley University (Cambridge, MA) to answer during a recent visit. As students poured through the doors of the café, pushing past each other and trying to beat the lunch lines, I stood by the entrance shouting “Answer two quick questions and win a free pizza party!” And I was happy to learn that even though I’m almost a full year out of college, some things haven’t changed: students still love pizza, (especially when it’s free :0)   The purpose […]

   By Vera Chang, West Coast Fellow, Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation Here is my latest piece on our Triple Pundit business of sustainable agriculture series: When Commodities Traders See Tomato Pickers in Action. It’s about the Student Farmworker Alliance and Farmworker Rights Workshop I participated in at Strengthening the Roots: Food and Justice Convergence.

An animal rights activist I know once told me that there is a correlation between how a farm treats its animals and how it treats its workers.  “After all,” he said, “if a farm is exploiting and abusing its workers, then they’re probably not treating their animals with respect either. And the opposite is also true—if they’re taking the time to make sure their animals live good lives, they’re probably looking out for their workers as well.” Well, I don’t know if this rule holds true across the board or not, but it certainly seems to be the case for Bowman & Landes Free Range Turkey Farm in New Carlisle, OH. Recently I drove through two hours of snowy Ohio scenery to meet up with the folks at Bowman & Landes, who gave me the grand tour of their turkey […]

East Coast Fellow Carolina and I visited Montebello Farm, where we met Adrian Albor, a young farmer. He told us about what he learned working as a farmworker after coming to the United States from Michoacán, México. Today, he is the farm manager of 18 acres of diversified organic vegetables. Here is a vlog about Adrian of Montebello Farm.

Check out Bon Appétit Management Company’s series on the business of sustainable agriculture on TriplePundit.com, an innovative new-media company for the sustainable business community. In our most recent post, “Seriously. Where Does Our Food Come From?” East Coast Fellow Carolina Fojo explores the complexity of the food chain and the challenges we face today in trying to source food responsibly. Read the whole post here.

Triple Pundit is an innovative new-media company for the sustainable business community. Its blog cultivates awareness and understanding of the triple bottom line: people, planet, profit. Check out Bon Appétit Management Company’s series on the business of sustainable agriculture. Here is our 7th post, Strawberry Hands, Bent Backs, Uncertain Futures, Vera's thoughts about migrant workers in strawberry fields.      Photo taken by Ansley West

I just started my fellowship with Bon Appétit Management Company after completing a farm apprenticeship at the University of California Santa Cruz. In my first vlog, I talk about what I take away from my time at the farm and what’s exciting to me as the West Coast Fellow. Thank you for watching and I hope you’ll stay tuned throughout the year! -Vera Chang, West Coast Fellow

My name is Carolina Fojo—I’m the new East Coast Fellow for Bon Appétit Management Company! I just graduated in May 2009 from Washington University, St. Louis. I majored in Anthropology (and no, I was not digging for bones, and I promise it makes sense that I’m doing what I’m doing for Bon Appétit now ;0) … Here’s a quick vlog about my experiences with Fair Trade, and coffee farmers, which should explain why I’m thrilled to be working at Bon Appétit this year.