Opportunities From: United Way of Pierce County

Harvest Leaders are the point person leading volunteers on urban fruit harvests and organizing logistics like food bank drop off and record keeping. Since all volunteers get to take home a portion of the harvest, Harvest Leaders have access to fresh fruit all season long. This is the perfect opportunity for people who like to preserve food and who want to give back to the community. Becoming a Harvest Leader is a way to meet new friends and gain experience leading small groups. All Harvest Leaders receive training from Harvest Pierce County staff in early summer.

 

We need Coordinators in North/West End Tacoma, Gig Harbor, South Tacoma, Eastside/South End Tacoma, Central/Hilltop Tacoma, Parkland/Spanaway, University Place/Fircrest, Lakewood/Steilacoom, Puyallup, and other locations.

 

Coordinators commit to lead a weekly harvest on a consistent day (which may include multiple sites), commit to the entire season (July through mid-October with fall months being the busiest), record all harvest details and help orient volunteers on site, bring equipment for harvests and deliver fruit to food banks.

 

Coordinators must be organized and independent workers, able to problem solve and alter plans as needed, flexible, and able to respond to emails and phone messages in a timely manner.

 

Reliable transportation to transport equipment and fruit is necessary for the position. We will reimburse your mileage. Vehicles need the ability to transport a 6-8 foot ladder. However, if you do not have a vehicle or it cannot transport a ladder, we have a van that you can likely use for the duration of fruit harvesting.

 

Mileage reimbursement and $100 stipend provided. Fruit Scouts should be prepared to commit to at least three hours per week. Additional training may be required. To apply, please contact Harvest Pierce County.

Fruit Scouts are volunteers who commit to registering new fruit trees for gleaning and checking on registered fruit trees to make sure they are healthy and ripe for picking. This is a great independent volunteer opportunity. Whether you like to walk, bike, or have a car to get around, fruit scouts are an important part to making sure that healthy fruit gets harvested. Fruit Scouts receive training in early summer to learn basic fruit tree care and maintenance. They are also responsible for taste testing the fruit to make sure it’s ready for eating!

 

We need Fruit Scouts in North/West End Tacoma, Gig Harbor, South Tacoma, Eastside/South End Tacoma, Central/Hilltop Tacoma, Parkland/Spanaway, University Place/Fircrest, Lakewood/Steilacoom, Puyallup, and other locations.

 

Fruit Scouts commit to scouting trees on a consistent day and ideally commit to the entire season (July through mid-October with fall months being the busiest). They bring pest management resources and fliers for fruit owners and report and record fruit assessment.

 

Fruit Scouts must be personable, an independent worker, able to respond to emails and phone messages in a timely manner, and have reliable transportation (biking or driving).

 

Mileage reimbursement and $100 stipend provided. Fruit Scouts should be prepared to commit to at least three hours per week. To apply, please contact Harvest Pierce County.

The Veggie Co-op is a volunteer-run program managed by the Pierce Conservation District (PCD) through its program Harvest Pierce County that coordinates individuals to come together as a community to grow food on a farm scale on land provided by the Franklin Pierce School District on E 96th and Waller Road in Tacoma, WA. Volunteers attend weekly work parties where they work, grow, and learn as a group, instead of stewarding rows individually as typical in most community gardens. The produce is divided 50/50 among emergency food sites and volunteers. Veggie Co-op is a free program and is open to all participants.

Volunteers ages 15 and under should be accompanied by a parent. The minimum requirement is 3 hours per week. Work parties are 3 hours long and offered several times a week. Typically the work parties happen in the morning hours to avoid working the hottest part of the day. Contact the Program Coordinator for the current work party times. Veggie Co-op runs from February-November annually, and volunteers are expected to commit to the season but are welcome to take up to 5 weeks off. Volunteer groups are allowed, but request no more than 15 per group. The registration period for Veggie Co-op is December 15th through January 31st, and then there will be volunteer orientations in February. Once someone registers they will be contacted about the dates of these orientation sessions if they would like to attend weekly work parties. If a group would like to volunteer with us for a one off event, then they will be trained by staff on site. More information: http://piercecd.org/276/Veggie-Co-op

The Gleaning Project is a volunteer program of Harvest Pierce County and the Pierce Conservation District that works to reduce the amount of produce wasted in our community, provide more fresh food to those in need, and build community. This community based effort is a response to the dramatic increase in the number of people seeking food assistance in our county. Most farmers are never able to sell everything they produce. Even if the produce is fresh, sometimes farmers are limited by regulations and aesthetics. Harvest Pierce County staff work with local farmers and organizes groups of volunteers to glean produce from their fields that they can no longer sell. The bounty is then distributed to food banks, meal sites, and community organizations. We also support volunteers to glean leftover food from vendors at Pierce County farmers markets. Fruit Trees can be abundant producers. Many people have fruit trees on their property that produce more than they can handle or never even get harvested! We work to prevent fruit waste by organizing volunteers to harvest trees at the homeowners request and share the bounty with local food banks and shelters

Youth under the age of 15 must be accompanied by an adult. Individuals can register to volunteer by visiting www.piercecountygleaningproject.org and then sign up for a gleaning event through the website events page. At the event they are given training on the spot by the Harvest Leader. During the spring months we also offer occasional New Volunteer Trainings at our office for folks who have never gleaned before. But the primary method of training is through our volunteer leaders and so a formal training is not required before someone starts gleaning.