We are now looking for volunteer Harvest Leaders for the Sierra Harvest Gold Country Gleaning program! This is a fun and engaging volunteer position, and a chance to really make a difference in your community.
Position overview: Harvest Leaders have a large responsibility. They are in charge of all aspects of a glean, beginning with scheduling the glean with the host site or farm, scouting trees in advance for ripeness/volume (if applicable), gathering tools, equipment and boxes for the harvest, and leading the volunteer crew (if applicable) on site. Harvest leaders are also responsible for transporting gleaned produce to the Interfaith Food Ministry (IFM) and weighing and storing it according to IFM procedures (training is provided). Ideally Harvest Leaders are able to interface with GleanWeb database to enter stats after each glean (training also provided). Communication with Community Programs Director is ongoing.
Commitment:
- 1-2 Harvests a month for 5 months, or longer depending on the harvest season. Harvests last 1 ½ -3 hours plus scouting, equipment pick-up and fruit delivery. Scheduling can be somewhat flexible based on the Harvest Leader’s schedule, but with the understanding that the window for ripeness can occur very quickly and be very short! When a glean is registered, it generally requires action within a week or so.
- Monthly meetings during the peak harvest season.
Qualifications:
The ideal candidate will have a strong interest in serving the community and should enjoy picking fruits and vegetables. This volunteer should be detail oriented, personable, and feel comfortable leading a group of volunteers. He/she should enjoy sharing Sierra Harvest’s work to inspire continued volunteerism. Must be able to lift 40lb boxes. Some knowledge of harvest methods and fruit ripeness is helpful but can also be learned. Having a vehicle that can transport 7-10 boxes of produce, fruit pickers or ladders is a strong plus. (Tools provided by Sierra Harvest)
Details:
Gleans in Nevada County happen almost year round, although the busiest time for gleans tends to be June-October. Early spring and late fall gleans are becoming more common as the Gold Country Gleaners make more connections throughout the county.
Harvest Leaders will be informed of upcoming gleans as they are registered in the GleanWeb database. Once a Harvest Leader has claimed that glean, they are responsible for contacting the farmer or tree owner to schedule the glean. A scouting visit to the site may or may not be necessary. Many gleans are small enough to be handled by just one or two glean leaders, but if a larger crew is beneficial Harvest Leaders or Community Programs Director (CPD) will post the glean on GleanWeb. Communication between Harvest Leaders and CPD is essential.
As mentioned above, Harvest leaders are responsible for gathering necessary tools, boxes, bins etc for the glean, and also for transporting gleaned produce to the IFM, weighing it, and recording weights in GleanWeb.
Perks:
• Learn leadership skills directing a diverse array of volunteers
• Taste and take home delicious seasonal fruits and veggies
• Meet new like-minded people.
• Learn the seasonality of locally grown produce
Training:
• Attend one gleaning event prior to leading your own.
• Attend 1-2hour harvest leader training at Sierra Harvest office once a year including volunteer management, safe harvesting and data tracking.
• Attend a 1 hour training at IFM to learn their procedures for dropping off and storing produce
Interested?
Please fill out the application below, and thank you for your interest in being a super star in our gleaning program!
For more info, or if you are interested in becoming a volunteer Harvest Leader, please contact edy@sierraharvest.org