Organization & Program Summary

Salvation Farms’ mission is to build increased resilience in Vermont’s food system through agricultural surplus management. Our work explores diverse opportunities to respond to Vermont’s surplus farm food in an effort to build food system security and regional food resilience. We run a gleaning program, serve as backbone support to the Vermont Gleaning Collective, and have operated a surplus crop food hub and workforce development program. Other aspects of our work include technical assistance, creating resources for gleaners, supply chain development, experiential education, community building, cross-sector colleague collaboration, research, dialogue facilitation, and state, regional, and national engagement.

Salvation Farms’ Gleaning efforts date back to the start of Salvation Farms (2005). Gleaning is the reaping of crops after the harvest. Today Salvation Farms serves upwards of four dozen farms and orchestrates weekly, year-round distribution of gleaned produce to more than 50 different recipient sites: youth organizations, senior meal programs, community programs, and food shelves. In recent years, Salvation Farms’ gleaning staff and volunteers have gleaned and distributed 60,000-80,000 pounds annually of high-quality, locally grown produce that would have otherwise been lost on farms in Northeast Vermont.

Salvation Farms is an equal opportunity, at-will employer with a commitment to building and fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.    

Position Summary

Salvation Farms Gleaning Coordinators are responsible for providing farms in the Lamoille Valley or Northeast Kingdom region with professionally-coordinated gleaning services, engaging community members in hands-on learning and farm-fresh food rescue, and coordinating the regular distribution of surplus crops to create a more inclusive, secure local food system. Gleaning Coordinators regularly partner with member organizations of the Vermont Gleaning Collective on regional or large-scale gleans, distribution, and program collaborations. Salvation Farms’ Gleaning Coordinators serve a complimentary role to the organization’s other agricultural surplus management strategies including such activities as minimal processing and brokering of Vermont’s farm surplus produce. 

A strong candidate is a people person that has produce farming experience, physical and mental endurance, excellent time and people management skills, and the ability to oversee a wide range of responsibilities.

Primary Duties (include but are not limited to)

Gleaning Coordinators oversee all operational elements of Salvation Farms gleaning efforts, serving either the Lamoille Valley or Northeast Kingdom, including field gleaning, farm pickups, distribution, volunteer coordination, and data collection. Specific tasks include:

• Farm Relations: calls, emails, visits to maintain consistent contact, provide professional gleaning services
• Volunteer and Crew Management: organization and oversight of gleaning crews and other volunteer tasks, provide orientation and training, maintain health and safety practices 
• Harvest Techniques and Fresh Food Handling: teaching, directing and correcting to ensure high quality safe product handling
• Storage and Distribution: guiding and overseeing the appropriate packing for specific crops, understanding storage needs and turnover timeframes, organizing distribution of gleaned product
• Community Agencies/Sites: maintain consistent contact through calls, emails and site visits. Provide professional delivery of gleaned crops
• Data Tracking and Impact Measurements: recording volunteer involvement, farm and crop specific harvest/collection information, records relating to the distribution of product

Additional Responsibilities:

• Represent and promote Salvation Farms Gleaning to a diversity of stakeholders 
• Maintain and develop community partnerships
• Support and assist with organization-wide fundraising and events
• Participate in the activities of the Vermont Gleaning Collective
• Dedication to the betterment and enrichment of Salvation Farms’ Gleaning services, including new or evolving program elements (distribution models, workforce development, etc.) 
• Create and maintain a work plan to stay accountable to performance goals
• Other duties as assigned

Desired Qualifications

• A sense of how to balance individual and team needs
• A balance of demonstrated skills and an openness to learning new ones
• Comfortable using our technological tools; Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, custom software, etc.
• Strong buy-in and support of our values, mission, and vision
• Reasonable problem-solving and conflict resolution capabilities
• Ability to self-manage for effectiveness
• Farming and produce handling experience strongly preferred
• Valid driver’s license required

• Must be able to lift 30-50 pounds regularly and meet the demands of harvesting and distribution

   

Schedule

An applicant considering a Gleaning Coordinator position must be able to manage an ever-changing schedule based on the weather, needs of the farms being served and the surplus crops available. There is no set schedule for this position during the peak field season. This position will require working some early mornings, evenings and weekends, sometimes in adverse weather conditions. Gleaning Coordinators are hourly employees, who may work an excess of 40 hours per week when approved in peak gleaning season (July – October), with corresponding downtime in the slower months.