Company description

Boston Area Gleaners, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing surplus farm crops for people in need. We distribute high quality, local produce to food pantries and meal programs by working closely with farmers, providing volunteer labor to harvest what would otherwise be plowed under.  We are building a reliable supply chain of agricultural surplus to regional food agencies that serve people in need. By organizing volunteers to harvest and sort crops on farms, we have gleaned and donated over 2.7 million pounds of high quality produce since our founding in 2004.

Job description

Do you want to spend your days outside on farms all over Eastern Massachusetts?  Join a highly effective and fun team? Does the challenging goal of gleaning 1 million pounds in a single growing season excite and motivate you?  Do you want to be a part of a dynamic and creative organization that is working to address the systematic problems in our food system?  Apply to join the Boston Area Gleaners Operations Team! 

Boston Area Gleaners is hiring for Operations Team Members including: a Team Leader and Apprentices. Both positions are seasonal full-time from July 8 to November/December. Candidates must commit to working the full duration of the season in order to qualify. 

The Operations Team is responsible for leading and organizing gleaning trips, as well as distribution activities under the direction of the Operations Manager and Director. All positions on our Operations team require a high degree of accountability in order to make sure that both the work gets done and that we are well represented as an organization interfacing with farmers, volunteers and recipient agencies (food pantries). 

• Gleaning activities on farms typically last 5 to 10 hours with 3 to 20 volunteers capable of harvesting 300 to 14,000 pounds of produce. 
• On gleaning trips, the Ops Team is responsible for: ensuring crops are harvested efficiently while maintaining quality standards; ensuring volunteer safety, training, and engagement; managing the product flow in the fields; and loading and unloading all produce into and out of BAG vehicles. This results in several hours of heavy lifting on each gleaning trip.
• Other routine activities include pickups of produce at partner farms, scouting fields for future harvests, inventory management, order picking and distribution to partner agencies.
• Effective communication with farmers, strong ability to engage and mobilize volunteers, and attention to detail are essential to the success of Ops Team Members.  
• Ops Team Members have the opportunity to learn about all aspects of our work and the local food system, as well as interact with many different farmers and farming techniques in our region. 

The Operations Team Leader position is suitable for someone who has extensive farming experience and some management experience. 

The Apprenticeship positions are suitable for people with a demonstrated interested in food systems and a strong desire to learn about all aspects of our work from farming to volunteer management to nonprofit management. 

To read the full job descriptions for both of these positions please visit our website. 
https://www.bostonareagleaners.org/job-opportunities.html

Compensation this position is : hourly, varies DOE, $12.00 - $17.00 Work visa This employer is willing to sponsor a work visa for international applicants Application instructions Deadlineno deadline