The Good Cheer Food Bank’s gleaning program engages volunteers to harvest and deliver excess produce from backyard fruit trees, the Bayview Farmer’s Market, and the Organic Farm School, for distribution to Whidbey Island’s hungry populations. Project Background: Harvest VISTA, a program of Harvest Against Hunger, connects local growers, food banks and volunteers to secure fresh produce for distribution to thousands of people throughout Washington State. The Harvest VISTA program finds new and innovative ways to decrease waste of fresh fruits and vegetables and increase the availability of nutritious produce to food bank clients. HAH partners with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to place AmeriCorps VISTA members at hunger relief organizations to start or continue existing produce recovery projects. Now in its seventh year, HAH currently has AmeriCorps VISTA members placed at host sites around Washington State on produce recovery projects.

Member Duties : The Summer Associate at Good Cheer Food Bank will support Fresh Food on the Table, our program to supply nutritious, locally-sourced fresh fruits and vegetables to low income and impoverished children, individuals, and families on South Whidbey Island in Washington. The Summer Associate’s activities will be focused on fair and efficient distribution of fresh produce, as well as healthy eating education. The Summer Associate will partner directly with produce donors, contract farmers, and garden volunteers to harvest, wash, pack, and deliver produce, contributing to food and nutrition education efforts for food bank clients. The Summer Associate will assist with food processing and season extension efforts, contributing to evaluation and discussion around retooling distribution points and limits system, assisting with photo documentation, outreach efforts, survey collection, and donor recordkeeping to track and evaluate program impacts.

Website link here: https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=94833&fromSearch=true#new_tab