Food Forward

Do you like fighting hunger & food waste in your own community, making your own volunteer schedule, and working outside? You may love being a Harvest Leader! Harvest Leaders are trained volunteers who harvest fruit all across Southern California.

Why:
​We often have more fruit-filled properties than we are able to harvest. Without more Harvest Leaders, that fruit will go to waste! A Harvest Leader and a few other volunteers will harvest hundreds of pounds of food to donate at an average harvest event.

What’s Expected:
Harvest Leaders can choose to harvest fruit trees in any of the following ways: (1) by themselves; (2) with family and/or friends; or (3) by leading harvest events that are open to volunteers from the public (which Food Forward recruits for you).

What’s Required:

• Must be at least 16 years old to train as a Harvest Leader
• Comfortable lifting boxes weighing 20 pounds
• Reliable access to a vehicle to transport harvesting equipment and deliver the produce to a local hunger relief agency.
• Food Forward provides liability insurance for the event.

When:
Extremely flexible! You can let us know what days and times you prefer to volunteer, but we ask Harvest Leaders to commit to volunteering at 6 harvest events over the course of a year or less. Of course, if you’d like to volunteer more, we’d be thrilled. Harvest events take 2-3 hours in total, including setting up before and wrapping up after.

Where:
We harvest fruit (and some veggies too) all across Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, although we need Harvest Leaders in East Los Angeles specifically.

How:
We’ll have you check out a harvest with a trained Harvest Leader. If you love it, we’ll get you through the rest of our training and paperwork process! A background check (free to you) is required.

After clicking “Express Interest”, keep an eye out for an email from our Volunteer Team! We will work together to find a date for you to check out a harvest. Thank you!

Please note, that this opportunity is managed by our partner, Food Forward. To sign up, please select the Express Interest button below.

All volunteers participating in this volunteer opportunity are expected to adhere to the health and safety guidelines outlined here: https://www.laworks.com/health-and-safety

By clicking “Express Interest” I certify I have read and agree to the Volunteer Terms and Conditions

Glean Team Leaders (GTLs) are trained volunteers who collect produce at farmers market “gleaning” events. If you are passionate about fighting hunger & food waste in your own community and are detail-oriented, you will love being a Glean Team Leader!

Why:
We rely on our Glean Team Leaders to recover and donate thousands of pounds of surplus fruits and vegetables every week from our Farmers Market Recovery events. Joining our Volunteer Event Leader community also connects you with folks from all walks of life who are passionate about food access, food waste, sustainability, and agriculture. You’ll have a regular opportunity to make a big impact, and you’ll get to know local farmers and local produce in a whole new way.

What To Expect:

• GTLs will lead the glean with a few volunteers from the public. GTLs are welcome to bring a friend/family member to glean with them!
• GTLs distribute empty boxes to participating vendors, collect the food donations at the end of the market, weigh and record the donations, and prepare the produce for pick-up by one of Food Forward’s partner hunger relief receiving agencies.

What’s Required:

• We’ll have you check out a glean at the market first with a trained Glean Team Leader. If you love it, we’ll get you through the rest of our training and paperwork process!
• We will work together to find a date for you to check out a glean; please do not show up at the farmers market without emailing us first.
• A background check (free to you) is required.
• You may need to lift boxes weighing up to 40 pounds.
• You’ll need a smartphone to record donations or send us a photograph of the record.
• We ask Glean Team Leaders to commit to volunteering at 6 market events over the course of a year or less. Of course, if you’d like to volunteer more, we’d be thrilled.

What Markets Do We Glean?:

After clicking “Express Interest”, keep an eye out for an email from our Volunteer Team! We will work together to find a date for you to check out a glean; please do not show up at the farmers market without emailing us first. Thank you!

Please note, that this opportunity is managed by our partner, Food Forward. To sign up, please select the Express Interest button below.

All volunteers participating in this volunteer opportunity are expected to adhere to the health and safety guidelines outlined here: https://www.laworks.com/health-and-safety

By clicking “Express Interest” I certify I have read and agree to the Volunteer Terms and Conditions

A Community Ambassador is the grassroots outreach volunteer that links Food Forward and its mission to their local neighborhood. Community Ambassadors act as the Food Forward face and voice to local government, educational, religious, public, and private groups and institutions through presentations, networking, electronic communication, or tabling at events. This opportunity is perfect for the social activist who wants to manage their own schedule independently and feels comfortable with public speaking, research, and securing community involvement with Food Forward’s programs.