The Good Acre (TGA) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to unlock economic opportunity for farmers in our region through a unique combination of personalized support and market development. Our programs are designed to help improve market opportunities for small, local farmers, giving more people greater access to healthy produce and strengthening our local food economy. 

Under the direct supervision of the  Director of Grower Support (DGS), the Grower Support Specialist (GSS) is responsible for receiving deliveries, documenting the delivery and providing information and feedback to LEAFF (Local Emergency Assistance Farmer Fund) farmers. LEAFF is a program that purchases fresh produce from BIPOC farmers and donates it to hunger relief organizations throughout the Twin Cities Metro area. LEAFF at TGA functions as a wholesale readiness program that can lead to meaningful commitments to buy contracted produce from the farm as they progress through a tiered wholesale readiness program. This position will be responsible for overseeing the movement of produce from the farm delivery vehicle to the coolers at TGA. The person in this position will document the farm delivery, give feedback to the farm about product quality, delivery logistics, packing standards and help guide the farm’s progression to becoming ready for wholesale contracts. This role works closely with the farmers in our wholesale readiness program (LEAFF), to identify challenges and opportunities week to week throughout the growing season.  Much of the weekly feedback and support will be tailored to the farm’s needs, and will require farm visits, language interpretation and connecting them to needed resources on a case by case basis, which will be carried out by other members of the grower support team.

Responsibilities 

Inbound Receiving & On Dock Technical Assistance

• Receive deliveries and assist with unloading from the farm vehicles during receiving hours. 
• Verify produce type, packaging standards, and quality,  accurately count boxes and check against farm invoice, create Pick Order within receiving system
• Record the delivery into the system and record anything that does not meet pack standards or is rejected. 
• Identify the farms’ next delivery; when they plan to bring it in and how much. Relay that information onto the Demand and Procurement Manager as needed. 
• Support farm partners in completing on-site purchases of packaging material, and gather material for those who are purchasing.   
• Notify the Grower Support team of any opportunities for technical assistance or farm visits, based on unmet product standards, inabilities to meet fulfillment, logistical problems, and direct requests from the farm. 
• Follow all operations team protocols on labeling, put up times and invoice handling.  
• Assist the operations team with needs around food hub operations.             

 Administration and Program Development 

• Maintain up-to-date and accurate data on the farm’s fulfillment rate and product quality. Data entry into TGA receiving system
• Attend farm visits to gain a better understanding of the farm's capabilities, capacity, root causes of product standard problems, and resource needs as needed. 
• Work with the GS team to document and develop a file of the farm’s current state, to be updated over their lifespan at TGA.                  
• Understand and communicate the need for FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) training opportunities and the actionable aspects of farm-level food safety and post-harvest handling practices.
• Work with the GS team to implement wholesale readiness, food safety, product standards training and educational videos. 

Minimum Qualifications 

• Commitment to The Good Acre’s mission 
• Must be able to repeatedly lift 40-pounds to shoulder-height 
• Familiarity with most produce, including Asian and African specialty crops 
• Be comfortable and accurate with counting, multiplication, and adding 
• Strong communication skills 
• Familiarity with Google suite of applications 
• Ability to work independently as well as being a supportive team player 
• Must have a valid driver’s license 

Desired Qualifications 

• Fluent in spoken Hmong, or Spanish 
• Produce Farming/post-harvest handling experience 
• Warehouse experience 
• Comfortable working with people from different cultures 

• 2 years of vegetable production, or vegetable handling experience