Volunteer with Sierra Harvest Today!
Meet new friends, develop new skills and gain a sense of accomplishment by volunteering. Bring fresh, healthy food and nutrition education to Nevada County families while having fun too.
2018 Volunteer Sierra Garden Crew of the Year
347 volunteers donated more than 3,870 volunteer hours this past year building capacity for our local food movement. Earn Discounts at the BriarPatch Food Co-op | Free admission to Soup Night, Food & Farm Conference, and more!
Featured Volunteer Opportunities
Harvest of the Month Processing – Nov. 4th, 2019
Position Overview and Impact
More than 7,500 students are excited to try organic fennel as part of the Harvest of the Month Program where students taste a new local or regional produce item every month. But we need your help processing and packing organic, local fennel from Mountain Bounty for the November Harvest of the Month.
Time Commitment
We need 6 volunteers to bag them all up from 1:30-5PM at possibly Nevada City School of the Arts Building 9 (the certified kitchen).
Qualifications and Skills Required
Commercial kitchen experience a plus and currently looking for one additional food processor/robocoup to slice the fennel. Please come with your hair tied back and wearing close-toed shoes.
Benefits of Volunteering
Feel all good inside knowing that your help translates to thousands of students trying a new veggie and supporting a local organic farmer too!
Sign up here!
Staff Contact: Questions – Lauren Scott at lauren@sierraharvest.org or 530-265-2343.
2019 Gold Country Gleaning Harvest Leader
Harvest Leaders are volunteers who love harvesting fruit who commit to leading a crew of volunteers up to twice a month June-Oct picking fruit that would otherwise go to waste from farms and home orchards and bringing it to Interfaith Food Ministry to be distributed to their 8,000 clients 25% of whom are children! Reduce food waste in the county and feed our Nevada County neighbors!
We have more local families wanting to donate their fruit than we have Harvest Leaders available to lead the gleans – join this fun team of volunteers today!
Commitment: 1-2 Harvests a month for 5 months. Harvests last 1 ½ -3 hours plus scouting, equipment pick-up and fruit delivery.
Qualifications: The ideal candidate will have a strong interest serving the community and enjoy picking fruits and vegetables. This volunteer should be detail oriented, personable, and feel comfortable in a 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.
More details here including how to apply.
Email Miriam Limov at miriam@sierraharvest.org with questions and your interest to set up an interview today!
Gleaning Volunteer – June – October
Volunteers harvest fruit and veggies from June-Oct. all over Nevada County that would otherwise go to waste from farms and home orchards donating the produce to Interfaith Food Ministry (IFM) to be distributed to those in need. All supplies are provided by Sierra Harvest and a volunteer Harvest Leader will lead the gleaning day including reviewing safety protocol and the gleaning process. There are more than 8,000 clients at IFM with 25% of them children that you will be helping to bring fresh, local and seasonal food to nourish them!
Full volunteer job description here.
Time/Date: Varies each week with gleans generally taking about 1.5-2 hours. You can sign up for as many gleans as you want!
Benefits of Volunteering:
Taste and take home seconds of delicious seasonal fruits and veggies. Bring a small bag to bring some home as a token of our appreciation.
Meet new friends.
Learn the seasonality of locally grown produce.
Additional Information: Bring water, snack, wide-brimmed hat, sunscreen, and work gloves. Wear closed toe shoes for safety. Once you are signed up for a glean on the website, specific directions to the gleaning site will be emailed to you plus any other details for that glean. Children may accompany you but they must be supervised at all times.
Apply Now to be a volunteer gleaner at https://www.sierraharvest.org/gleaning/ and click on the volunteer link. Complete the online form. Once you are a registered volunteer gleaner, you can sign up for all future gleans on the website. You will need to check back often for new gleans that are listed on the calendar.
Staff contact: Miriam Limov at miriam@sierraharvest.org
Tabling Outreach – Year-round
Volunteer for a Sierra Harvest booth event and share your enthusiasm and passion with the public about our programs and how the public can get involved. This activity could include a food tasting, kid’s food activities, helping people plant seeds and more depending on the event. More info here.
Location: Varies for every event.
Time/Date: Varies for every event.
Time Commitment: Generally, the shift will be 1-2 hours per shift.
Email Miriam to get trained today – miriam@sierraharvest.org
Food Love Farm Volunteer Day – Tuesdays April – June and Aug – Oct.
Come help at the Food Love Farm, our educational farm, where more than 2,000 students learn where their food comes from and get first-hand experience working on a farm. Dig beds, plant, harvest, weed and learn about organic crop production alongside the fun Sierra Harvest staff. More info here.
Time Commitment: Tuesdays from 9am – noon from April – June and again August – October. No need to contact in advance of your participation – just show up. However, if you are a group of 4 or more, then please do connect with Emily in advance so that she can be prepared with projects.
Time: You can help just 1, 2 or all 3 hours!
Staff Contact: Emily Koller for more info – emily@sierraharvest.org
Sierra Garden Mentor – Year-round
The Sierra Gardens program is looking for experienced and knowledgeable home gardeners who can be available to help throughout the growing season by assisting our gardening families with plant deliveries, planting, amending beds, irrigation repair, and all around support and advice. This support is in addition to what staff and volunteer build crews already provide. Schedule would be totally variable depending on what needs arise. Mentors can set their own schedule. Full volunteer position description here. Contact Edy@sierraharvest.org to sign up and help families grow more food!
Complete the form below to join the Sierra Harvest Volunteer Team. Miriam Limov, Engagement Manager will be in touch within a week. More info contact her at miriam@sierraharvest.org
