Community Compost Ambassador - College of San Mateo Farmer's Market & Phoenix Garden

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Position Summary
Fresh Approach seeks a motivated community member to provide program assistance to Compost programs in San Mateo. This paid volunteer position is primarily responsible for supporting the operations for Fresh Approach’s Community Compost Hub location at the College of San Mateo Farmers’ Market and the Phoenix Garden. The position will include teaching about, collecting, maintaining, and distributing compost in the community. This position is a good fit for San Mateo residents interested in helping us create a sustainable & equitable food system in their community, as well as anyone interested in local agriculture, gardening, and community volunteering. This is a temporary, part-time position from May 2022 through October 31st, 2022 , with the possibility of extension pending funding, and will require a total of 175 hours of service (approximately 6-7 hours per week) for the 7-month term.

About Fresh Approach
The mission of the Fresh Approach is to create long-term change in local food systems by connecting California communities with healthy food from California farmers and expanding knowledge about food and nutrition. We accomplish our mission through a variety of programs, including the Mobile Farmers’ Market; VeggieRx nutrition education classes; Collective Roots Gardening; and the East Palo Alto Community Farmers’ Market. We believe that everyone should have equal access to healthy foods, and that the health of our communities and the livelihood of our local farmers should go hand-in-hand.

About the Community Compost Hub

Established in 2019, Fresh Approach’s Community Compost Hub is a way for San Mateo County residents to reduce their in-home food waste while contributing to the production of high-quality compost, which will stay in the community and be used by Compost Hub members and other gardeners to grow food. Residents can sign-up for free, complete an orientation and survey, and pick up a bucket at a collection site which they will take home to collect food scraps. Members then drop off food scraps at the collection site, and Fresh Approach brings those scraps to a community garden site to compost them, or composts them on-site. This position supports a food scrap collection site at the College of San Mateo Farmers’ Market and compost system at the Phoenix Garden.

Program Roles & Responsibilities

• Complete a 3-hour training & shadowing of volunteer position (3 hours)

• Assist with food scrap collections at the College of San Mateo Farmers’ Market (about 4 hours per week)
• Collect food scrap buckets of Hub members, check the contents for accuracy & quality, weigh and track the amount of food scraps collected, disperse empty/compost-full buckets.
• Onboard new members who are coming to the collection booth for the first time
• Share information about the program, provide participants with the compost hub video link to register and manage new member bucket and voucher disbursement.
• Assist with compost system maintenance at the Phoenix Garden (about 3 hours per week)
• Adding food scraps to the compost system, maintaining the systems, cleaning buckets, and preparing buckets for disbursement and compost disbursement

• Assist Fresh Approach staff in leading one composting workshop (about 10 hours total)

• Work with Fresh Approach staff to review the curriculum and practice facilitating.
• Co-facilitate a workshop with Fresh Approach staff
• Help with community outreach about the program as needed (2-5 hours per month)
• Educate residents, families, other community members about the Hub, encourage more people to get involved, and promote upcoming workshops
• Help distribute outreach materials
• Participate in community tabling events to share about Fresh Approach programs

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience working with diverse populations, including recipients of public benefits (CalFresh/WIC/Medi-Cal, etc.)
• Ability to work in a team environment as well as independently
• Detail-oriented with the ability to complete tasks in a timely manner
• Creativity and dependability
• Bilingual

Requirements:

• Ambassador must be above 18 years of age
• This position may require weekend and evening work
• This position requires reliable transportation to and from the College of San Mateo Farmers’ Market/Phoenix Garden
• This position requires the ambassador to be able to lift equipment up to 30 lbs and stand for 1-2 hours at a time
• Ambassador must be comfortable speaking in front of groups and working with a wide range of people from all backgrounds
• Ambassador must be comfortable withstanding strong odors and getting dirty

Compensation:

• Stipend: Total stipend of $3,150 provided in 2 payments ; half in Mid-April and half after the completion of 175 hours of service

To Apply:

To be considered for this position, send a brief description of yourself and your interest in the position to najihaalasmar@freshapproach.org