ISSUE NO. 584
TIME IS A FUNNY THING ...
 

On paper, time appears solid. It's a unit of measurement, something that you can count and record. Something that we all theoretically have in equal proportion.

And yet, time is also relative. Anyone who has lived a few decades can tell you that a 4-year-old's summer stretches on forever, while a 40-something's summer seems to evaporate in a flash. 

The relative nature of time is further compounded when we consider compensation for work. At the extreme, Jeff Bezos amasses more wealth in one second (approximately $3,715) than the median American worker makes in one week ($994 / week or $24.60 per hour). 

Over the past two years we have been evolving our compensation policies - setting requirements for posting a job our website - and providing coverage on the topic along the way, such as here, here, and here.

Every few months we have increased the minimum - first to minimum wage in a given geographic area (including the minimum salary for overtime exempt positions, which often equates to much higher than the minimum wage per hour), then to a minimum of $10 / hour (regardless of whether the minimum wage in a given state was lower) or the minimum wage, whichever is higher, and on January 1st, 2022 we moved to our final (for now) tier:

All jobs posted on Good Food Jobs must pay a minimum of $15 / hour. 

For some people (particularly employers) these policies have come far too swiftly with not enough time to adjust to the rising standards, and for others (namely employees), these efforts are 10 years too late and still have so much further to go. Time is relative. 

We know that change can be hard. We also know that we can do hard things.  


To forward momentum,
Tay + Dor


photo by Emily Garthwaite

tidbits...

resources on anti-racism, environmentalism and food culture AKA stuff we're reading / listening to / watching / noticing / thinking about / captivated by this Tuesday . . .

Divest from diet culture with Be Nourished's wonderful list of ways to engage in 'body trust'. 

Nicole Rufus for Eater on how the publishing world is *finally* embracing Black cookbooks.

Be a part of making an incredible food culture project come to life. Chef / Author / Activist / Speaker Zoe Adjonyoh edited an anthology called SERVING UP Essays on Food, Identity, and Culture. They are 39% funded and looking to reach their goal of 50% today. Can you help them cross that threshold and put this remarkable work into the world? 

Yes, our minimum wage policy even pertains to tipped positions. All job posts must guarantee $15 / hour pay. For a deeper dive into tipping culture see Ruth Reichl's substack newsletter on the topic. 


Read the latest GFJ Story on award-winning British photojournalist Emily Garthwaite and her travels across Iraq. Words by Jehan Nizar, photos by Emily Garthwaite.

got a tidbit? drop it here for us and we'll share it in next week's newsletter.