In faithful search for that friendly enjoy-your-meal smile, Judith R. Della Barba keeps her Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) business cards close at hand. With Cambridge unemployment at under two percent, the head hunt is harder than ever.

"I'm not ashamed to say it," the associate director for human resources says. "We'll go into Bruegger's Bagels or Friday's and we'll give [an impressive employee] a card. 'You should come work for Harvard,' I'll say."

Hungry for staff, other Bay State restaurants and hotels--from the Hard Rock Cafe to Bartley's Burger Cottage--are having trouble filling their dishrooms and kitchens because of an economy on the upswing.

"There's a crisis in the Massachusetts food services industry," Della Barba says--and HUDS is feeling it, with at least 35 openings at their dining halls, restaurants and catering operation, according to the Office of Human Resources Web site.

Quincy House, one of HUDS' busiest and most understaffed with multiple vacancies, is in the thick of the problem. Currently, temporary workers and other staff have to overcome 100 hours of missing labor per week.

"We've been running on a short team since September," says one general service staff member. "It's a very hard, physical, stressful job. They need to get more help."

Adds a Quincy chef: "If things keep going like this, a lot of people will leave."