Fight Food Waste at the Mar Vista Farmers Market on Sundays!

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QUICK OVERVIEW

Gleaning surplus produce at the Mar Vista Farmers Market on Sundays with Food Forward's Farmers Market Recovery program.

MISSION

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 may love being a Glean Team Leader!

IMPACT

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.

VOLUNTEER ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

At the Mar Vista farmers market, GTLs will lead the glean with another GTLs and 1-2 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 organizations.

REQUIREMENTS

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! A background check (free to you) is required.

You must be at least 16 years old to train as a GTL, and volunteers 16 - 17 years old must have a parent or legal guardian who trains and volunteers with them.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

You may need to lift boxes weighing up to 40 pounds, and you'll need a smartphone to record donations or send us a photograph of the record. Food Forward provides liability insurance for the event.

The market gleans are on Sundays from 1:30 to 3:30 pm. Volunteer shifts are about 2.5 hours long. 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.

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!