Sole Food Street Farms ,Seasonal farm volunteer In Canada

l Volunteer Program

A season-long volunteer position at Sole Food Street Farms is for
individuals with a serious interest in urban agriculture and social
enterprise. The program provides each participant with the opportunity
to spend a season working on an urban farming operation. Most of the
education will be through hands-on experience and the skills learned
will be focused on agriculture and social sustainability in an urban
context.

About Sole Food Street Farms

Sole Food transforms vacant urban land into street farms that grow
artisan quality fruits and vegetables. Our mission is to empower
individuals with limited resources by providing jobs, agricultural
training and inclusion in a supportive community of farmers and food
lovers.

Sole Food Street Farms is in its sixth year of operation. In our first
growing season (2009), over 100 volunteers joined together to build a
half-acre farm on a vacant parking lot beside the Astoria Hotel. We
have provided employment for 35 residents of the Downtown Eastside,
produced over 15.5 tons of food, generated and donated over 11,000
pounds of fresh healthy produce to inner city food agencies.

Over the past four seasons, we expanded our operation to include three
additional sites, totaling four and a half acres of growing space.
These sites include a privately owned parking lot and two city owned
brownfields. We are modeling innovative ways of growing food in vacant
urban spaces and in abandoned lots with contaminated soils. Our
approach is re-envisioning and repurposing vacant lands to improve the
food security of our local communities, while providing meaningful
employment for people who face systemic barriers to accessing and
maintaining traditional employment

What does being a seasonal volunteer at Sole Food mean?

We have a diverse and innovative urban farming operation, which
requires a wide range of skills: greenhouse seedling production, field
planting, weeding and harvesting, produce deliveries, produce
processing and preparing restaurant orders, and building and repairing
infrastructure. You don’t need to have any background in farming or
gardening but should be prepared for physically demanding work
performed in all types of weather.

The time we spend working is determined by the work that needs to be
done and not by schedule. Work is done as a team – if fieldwork still
needs to be done at the end of the day we all work together to get the
work done. With that in mind, you are expected to work quickly and
efficiently, to keep up with the paces set by others and work quickly
on your own. If this seems difficult at the beginning of the season,
don’t worry you will get faster!

Sole Food is a close-knit group of coworkers that functions as an
informal support network. We hope that all of our seasonal volunteers
will make the effort to get to know the other employees at Sole Food
and become an active and engaged member of the community.

We aim to provide you with a well-rounded training in urban
bio-intensive agriculture and farm operations, and expect you to
pursue this learning. You will have the opportunity to work at farmers
markets, help create our CSA newsletter and staff CSA handouts, and
learn the ins and outs of running a social enterprise. Besides the
informal training that happens each day on the farms, we will provide
monthly seminars on various topics and opportunities for further
learning off the farm.

Work Schedule
• The program begins May4th and ends the week of September 30th.
• Your time commitment is approx. 24 hours per week, Monday through
Friday (usually three 8-hour days), with some room for flexibility if
help is needed at the weekend farmers markets or with weekend chores.
There will be weeks at the start of the season where days are very
short and weeks in the middle of the season when days are a bit
longer.
• The midseason work schedule starts at 6:30am with one-hour lunch
breaks. We aim to end by 3:30 or 4 pm every day. The exception may be
on harvest days or for special projects.
• We will go over the duties, classes and chore schedule at the
beginning of the season.
• Be punctual; be prepared to work at the designated time, with the
necessary tools, and proper clothing. Closed toed shoes are required
at all time on the farm.
• Two weeks advance notice is required for vacation breaks.

Mentorship:

At the start of your position you will work with our Co-Director and
the Farm Manager to identify areas in your professional skill set that
you would like to further develop to prepare yourself for a career in
community food security. You will have monthly check-ins to reflect on
how your skills are developing and identify what other learning
opportunities may exist for you while working with Sole Food.

Compensation
• The volunteer stipend is $300/month, paid out at the end of the
month, and a weekly share of produce through our CSA. Our CSA shares
are distributed on Thursdays between 2 pm and 6 pm. During your time
as a volunteer, you will receive the employee discount of 50% off all
produce at farmers’ markets.

What you will need
• Rain Gear
• Rubber boots
• Sunhat
• Water bottle
• A bicycle or means to get from site to site is very helpful

Who are we looking for?

While some exposure to commercial agriculture is preferred, it is not
required as long as one has a good attitude and work ethic.

Our ideal candidate has:
• A serious interest in farming as a lifestyle and/or livelihood
• Physical ability to carry out farm tasks
• Lots of energy and highly motivated
• A mind for efficiency
• Open and positive communication skills
• A friendly personality and willingness to spend time with customers,
chefs, and CSA members
• Interest in social enterprise
• Flexibility and a sense of humour!

To Apply

Please submit a resume and cover letter that includes answers to the
following questions to:
info@solefoodfarms.com
by March 9, 2015. Thanks!
• How does an agricultural experience such as this program for in with
your future plans?
• Why do you think a seasonal volunteer is good for you?
• What previous agriculture experience do you have?
• What physical limitations might you have in performing farm tasks
(bending over for long stretches, lifting, pushing heavy
wheelbarrows)?
• Can you commit to five months?
• What other relevant skills do you have?
• Anything else you want us to know?