Link RoundUp

Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food.  Check out this webinar presented by the USDA, airing today at 2pm.  Learn about resources for building local and regional food systems in your community.

Don't forget, celebrate the farmer!  Why?  Because it isn't easy.

Great reasons for not eating out.  Listen to Cathy Erway on the Heritage Radio Network.

Eating too much candy?  Throw it out!  On second thought, give it to a factory farm.  More evidence that you should eat organic beef.  BPA's are scary too, stick to the fresh and local stuff.

Reclaim barren space, grow an urban garden.

If your produce isn't organic it will contain pesticides, even washing won't eliminate them.

Great health and fitness apps for your smart phone.

The number of Farmers' Markets in New York State has more than doubled in the past 10 years.  Along with new health policies, local and organic products are becoming available to all New Yorkers.

Who would have thought art students were so into take-out?  Here, chew-on some food art!

Looking For More Great People to Join our Team!

Prep Cook

We're seeking an experienced prep cook.

The ideal candidate will be able to:
- refer to prep lists at the start of each shift for assigned duties
- work carefully and quickly in a fast paced environment
- open/close kitchen according to instructions and maintains a clean work station
- adapt quickly to changing situations

Requirements:
Excellent knife skills are a must.
Food handler's license preferred.
Available for shifts on Saturdays and/or Sundays, 8 - 4pm.

$9/hr

Sweet Roots Rep

We're looking for friendly delivery people to join our team! You'll ride shotgun with our delivery drivers and present Sweet Roots boxes to our weekly clients. 

Our ideal candidate is: 
- personable; comfortable making conversation and answering questions
- passionate about local & organic food
- willing to learn about our brand and the products we deliver
- able to use a map to provide directions in the event of traffic/construction/other unanticipated blockages

You must be available Sunday, Monday and/or Tuesday from 3:30 - 9pm.

$9/hr

Delivery Driver

We're looking for experienced NYC drivers to join our delivery team!

Our ideal candidate:
- has professional NYC driving experience
- knows Manhattan and Brooklyn like the back of their hand
- adapts quickly to changing situations
- shows up on time

Requirements:
- Valid driver's license
- No accidents or DUI/DWI in the past 3 years
- Must qualify as a driver on our ZipCar business account (ZipCar requires all drivers to be over 21 years of age)
- Must be available on Sundays and Mondays between 3:30 and 9 pm.

$14/hr

Email Carla at carla@sweetrootsnyc.com if you're interested in any of these postions! 

Intern at Sweet Roots NYC!

It's that time of year again. 

We are looking for 4 awesome interns to join our team this fall. 

Kitchen Prep & Menu Planning (2 interns)

This position is for food nerds. You’ll work under the supervision of our CEO to develop menus for clients on a weekly basis and then our Operations Manager will show you the ropes in the kitchen. In this internship, you’ll learn all about local, seasonal produce. You’ll discover the amazing weirdness of people’s food preferences. You’ll be exposed to wholesale markets, artisanal makers, and specialty products. By the end of your time with us, among other things, you’ll have stellar knife skills. 

The right candidate for this position has the ability to: 

• stay calm under pressure
• take direction
• be a team player

We are specifically looking for:laser-like attention to detail 

• solid knife skills
• experience in a professional kitchen or culinary school classes
• passion for the local food movement
• know-how when it comes to home cooking

To apply for this position, please send us a cover letter in which you describe your experience with food. Tell us what about this particular opportunity makes you excited. Highlight relevant past experience. We’d also like to know about your availability (start date, class schedule, etc.) and if you’d like to do this internship for credit.  

Operations & Business Management (1 intern)

This position is for the aspiring entrepreneur. You’ll assist our Operations Manager in the day-to-day business of our company. The work you do will be critical to making sure things run smoothly behind the scenes. In this internship, you’ll learn about the mechanics of scaling a business to meet demand. You’ll work closely with the Sweet Roots staff as we work to gain efficiency and streamline the consumer experience. You’ll attend team meetings and participate in strategy sessions. By the end of this internship, you’ll have access to enough of the business side of things to know if start-up life is for you. 

The right candidate for this position: 

• focuses on creating solutions
• evaluates data for its practical implications
• adapts quickly as situations change

We are specifically looking for business/accounting/economics students with:

• solid Excel skills (eg. you know your way around a pivot table)
• laser-like attention to detail
• an ‘if it doesn’t exist, build it’ mentality

To apply for this position, please send us a cover letter in which you answer the following prompts. We’d also like you to tell us what about this particular opportunity makes you excited. Highlight relevant past experience. Be sure to tell us about your availability (start date, class schedule, etc.) and if you’d like to do this internship for credit.  

1) You were just hired at a small bakery. It’s only your second day on the job, when a positive review of the bakery comes out sending sales through the roof. By the looks of things, sales are going to continue along this trajectory. The baker can’t keep up with the demand, the storefront is swarming with unhappy impatient customers, and the supervisor looks distraught. (S)he asks you to develop a plan of action.

List 3-5 major changes you impose to tackle this problem. Consider the short/long term, currently limited finances, quality assurance despite the expansion, re-pricing, hires/fires, efficiency analysis, etc. 

2) Your little sister has a lemonade stand. She starts losing track of her inputs, sales, and profits because her business is booming (her ginger thyme infusion is irresistible), and she has to use each second to either pour lemonade or accept payment from the customers. You decide to help her out by creating a spreadsheet to automate the process.

True or False: 

You feel comfortable manipulating Excel to create metrics for her. 

You can also help her analyze them to make her business more efficient. 

*Of course, everything can be Googled in today’s world. We’re interested in whether you’re the kind of thinker and learner that use the tools at hand to build something that doesn’t exist yet. 

Branding & Marketing (1 intern)

This internship is for a gifted communicator. Working closely with our CEO, you'll gain experience building a brand from the ground up. You'll definitely flex your social media muscle, but you'll learn that, at this stage in particular, branding is about more than clever tweets. Our clients are our best advocates, so our work begins with them. You'll participate in the design of client experience. You'll assist the CEO in creating materials that will facilitate consistent communication of the brand message at all levels of the company. By the end of this internship, you'll have a clear understanding of what it means to be client-side and a portfolio of written work to share with future employers.

The right candidate for this position:

• takes challenges head on
• works independently
• plays really really well with others
• delivers on deadline

What we're looking for:

• sophisticated writing
• Internet savvy
• upbeat personality
• strong organizational skills
• quick-studies

To apply for this position, please respond to the following prompt:

Using our website and online articles that have already been written about us as your source material, identify a media outlet that would be a strategic place to communicate the Sweet Roots message and articulate 3 reasons why that media outlet should cover Sweet Roots. Pay special attention to the overlap between the media outlet’s audience and the Sweet Roots target market. You only need to write a paragraph, but be mindful that this is a sample of your writing - watch out for typos, grammar, and clarity of thought. 

In your cover letter, you should also tell us what about this particular opportunity makes you excited. Highlight relevant past experience. Be sure to include your availability (start date, class schedule, etc.) and if you’d like to do this internship for credit.

FYI

All interns will be expected to commit to 2 days each week. These internships are unpaid, but we will pay for public transportation costs to and from the Sweet Roots NYC office in South Williamsburg and we’ll provide lunch. We are also happy to work with you to arrange for credit at your university.  

Send all applications materials to carla@sweetrootsnyc.com. Please indicate which internship you are applying for in the subject line. 

Beat the Heat with No-Cook Summer Meals

For most of the summer, I feel virtuous. There is no a/c in my kitchen or in any room other than the bedroom, so I do my part to help the planet, save a good chunk of change on my electric bill and on hot days, I make lots of iced coffee and relish in the fact that I live alone (read: clothing optional). There are days, though, when the box fan in my window doesn’t cut it and the idea of turning on my oven makes me sweat. 

 So, the prospect of a few more days in the high 90’s (a “realfeel” of 106 according to Accuweather) has me planning a weekend of home cooking without any actual cooking. Salads are obvious choices. I have some beautiful radicchio, lots of kale, english breakfast radishes, and cucumbers to work with. I like adding nuts and seeds to everything. I’ll work through my jars of pickles and mash chickpeas and tahini on sprouted bread. I’ll chop up green beans into bite size pieces and toss them with tons of lemon zest and fresh herbs. Raw favas with fresh ricotta and mint. Chilled gazpacho topped with dried chile crumbles. 

 Best of all, I’ll make a batch of Barbados Cream. I told one of my clients about it a few weeks ago and she’s raved so much since then that I’ve been meaning to make it in my own kitchen. I remember it as thick, sweet and creamy and delightfully cold. Perfect for this weekend because there’s absolutely no cooking involved. No recipe needed either. Whisk equal parts heavy cream and thick Greek yogurt until thick. Top with brown sugar and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Serve it with tons of berries. 

Looking for an awesome summer internship? We're hiring!

We're in the market for a bright, ambitious intern to help improve our menu planning process. As many of you know, we've optimized it for quality and customer satisfaction. Now it's time to tweak things behind the scenes to make it faster and more efficient.

Here's what we'll be doing and need your help with:
- Observing and documenting our existing process
- Identifying bottlenecks and testing solutions
- Researching and setting up meetings with businesses in other industries that have solved similar problems
- Helping Sweet Roots team members implement the latest process iteration

Who is our dream candidate?
- You are incredibly organized, some might say you're neurotic
- Your bookcase is organized, possibly by color
- You sometimes feel compelled to rearrange your friend's closet
- You don't understand people who don't always keep their keys in the same place
- While waiting in line at the post office, you think of 10 ways to cut down wait time
- You are opinionated, but you base it on evidence and a dose of shrewd intuition
- You are known for your keen observation skills
- You enjoy good food and play well with others
- You can commit to 2 days a week through September

If that sounds like you, shoot us an email at info@sweetrootsnyc.com. Tell us why you're right for the job and include your resume in the body of the email.

PS - The internship is unpaid, but we're pretty ace in the kitchen, so we'll take turns making you lunch!