metro Jewish Food Chain Detroiter's first job at nonprofit Hazon provides the chance to make a difference. T wo weeks after my graduation from the University of Michigan this spring, I moved to New York City to begin a position as a program fellow at Hazon, a national Jewish envi- ronmental nonprofit based in New York's Financial District. My first few months in New York were a whirlwind. Nearly four months into my job, when I was starting to settle into city life and the roar of the subway started to sound more like lullabies as opposed to life-threatening rumbles, I had the opportunity to par- ticipate in the end Liz Traison of the Hazon Cross- Special to the USA Ride, one of the Jewish News many great events that Hazon plans each year. At the beginning of June, riders depart- ed from Seattle; 10 made the trip across the country and arrived in Washington, D.C., 10 weeks later with the intention to raise awareness about sustainable food systems. Riders met farmers and Jewish commu- nities of all shapes and sizes along the way, getting to know the country in a different way. I joined the riders in their last week of the trip, from Pittsburgh to Capitol Hill. Of all the strange and interesting places I have ever spent Shabbat in my life, from Kfar Chabad to Kathmandu, Connellsville, Penn., may be amongst the most obscure, yet most meaningful. Once a thriving, bus- tling town, Connellsville was brought back to life on the Shabbat the Hazon bike rid- ers shared their energy with the town. On Shabbat afternoon, sitting behind a church in Connellsville, I shared a blanket and some sunshine with a group of fasci- nating people I may otherwise never had the chance to interact with if it weren't for Hazon. Some were just a few years older than me, transitioning between jobs and graduate degrees; some were my parents' age and just looking for an adventure to inspire them; and some were closer to my grandparents' age, beginning a third chap- ter in their lives. We spoke about our families, our thoughts on the future of the Jewish peo- ple, we reminisced about our grandmoth- ers' cooking, and the challenges facing our current food system. 38 November 1 • 2012 Enthusiastic riders support Hazon's environmental efforts. Hazon Connection In that moment and now, I cannot help but be thankful that my first job out of college is one I love and feel so connected to. Hazon, the leading Jewish environmen- tal organization in North America, has a strong commitment to creating healthier and more sustainable communities in the Jewish world and beyond. We organize four annual bike rides — in New York, California, Israel and across the U.S. — that serve as fundraisers for food work, which includes a weekend food conference, resources about healthy and sustainable living, and giving grants to other Jewish environmental organizations including Adamah, Teva and the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. The Jew and the Carrot, Hazon's blog in collaboration with the Jewish Daily Forward, serves as the homepage for the Jewish food movement. Its articles reach more than 40,000 people each month with everything from Shabbat recipes to serious discussions on food justice issues. Hazon Rides have raised more than $7.5 million for Jewish environmental educa- tion in the 12 years since Hazon's incep- tion. More than 81,000 people have shared an experience with Hazon, and more than 645,000 have benefitted from its resources Hazon programs teach children about sustainable food systems. in some way, whether it's joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), rid- ing a bike, attending a food conference or a cooking class, or trying a new recipe from Jew and the Carrot. However, the aspects of Hazon that are the most inspirational go far beyond the amount of money raised. It's the Shabbat afternoons sitting on a blanket speaking with a 65-year old woman who spent the first nine weeks of her retirement biking across the country. It's watching a little boy no older than 5, pick up a CSA share from one of Hazon's 60 CSA sites across the country, and get excited about gooseber- ries. It's watching a bar-mitzvah boy and his mom complete a century-ride (100 miles), after having spent the summer raising money for Jewish environmental organizations. And, above all else, it's watching Jewish people of all backgrounds come together with a strong desire to make the world a better place. At an organization with a serious commit- ment to making the world a healthier and more sustainable place, its no surprise that around lunchtime our office is filled with delicious smells of mostly fresh and local ingredients. Our passion for Judaism, food justice and good cooking unites us as a staff. A more surprising connection is the number of Hazon staff, past and present, who have spent some time in the Mitten. In fact, it is because of the connection to Michigan and U-M that many Hazon staff members found themselves drawn to Hazon in the first place. Senior Development Associate Sydney Maisel graduated from U-M in 2009. She says, "I was drawn to Hazon because of the inherent Jewish community that it creates and maintains. The community created by the University of Michigan is uniquely similar. People who participate in Hazon events share a very close common bond. Similarly, if you see someone anywhere in the world wearing a U-M hat, and say 'Go Blue!' your connection with him or her is immediate. I feel blessed to have attended the University of Michigan, where a com- munity like that existed, and to currently work for a place where every day I feel connected to my coworkers and a larger Hazon community" My day school education from Hillel Day School and Frankel Jewish Academy has left me with a serious desire to advance the Jewish future. It's no surprise that I love being outside, spending my summers in Northern Ontario at Camp Ramah in Canada. My interest in health and nutrition spiked when my youngest sister was diagnosed with diabetes the same week as my bat mitzvah. The aptitude test I took in high school said I would either be a rabbi or a farmer, so perhaps it's no surprise that I ended up at Hazon, an organization striving to cre- ate healthier and more sustainable com- munities in the Jewish world and beyond, and to generally making the world a better place. I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity. Liz Traison, 22, of West Bloomfield is a 2012 graduate of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.