Fight Food Waste at the Ventura Farmers Market on Saturday!

Who: 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! 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.

What: At the Ventura market, GTLs can glean on their own, but are welcome to bring a friend or family member 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 organizations.

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.

When: The market glean is on Saturdays from 11:30am to 12:30pm. 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. Shifts are about 1.5 hours long.

How: 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.

Email volunteer@foodforward.org to let us know you're interested!*** Please do not show up at the market without communicating with us first. We'll work together to find a date for you to check it out!