Volunteers Needed for Food Recovery (Gleaning) at the Farmers’ Market!
*Individuals and groups are both welcome!*
Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, Inc. (CAC) strives to make fresh, local food available to everyone. Gleaning at the Farmers’ Market helps us toward this goal by making locally farmed and prepared goods available to a wider range of people in the Madison area.
What is gleaning?
Gleaning refers to the harvesting of surplus produce and other goods from farms, farmers’ markets, and vendors. CAC’s Farmers’ Market gleaning program connects volunteers with Farmers’ Market vendors to collect healthy and edible, but not “sell-able,” food. This food is then distributed for free by CAC to a network of local food pantries and meal sites. Gleaning efforts increase access to nutritious food and reduce unnecessary food waste.
How does it work?
On Saturdays at 11:45 am; volunteers and a CAC staff member meet at the Dane County Farmers’ Market (see exact location below), and go through a brief gleaners training. At noon, volunteers begin gleaning by walking a cart to vendor stalls and asking vendors if they would like to donate any surplus goods to local pantries. Volunteers then bring those gleaned goods back to be loaded onto the CAC truck. At the end of the market day, products are brought back to CAC by a staff member - to be weighed and stored for distribution.
Requirements:
This position requires standing, walking, lifting (20-40 lbs), pushing a cart of food, and some socializing with market vendors.
Please pick your desired gleaning date(s) and select them through this post or send your information to lindseyk@cacscw.org.
The effort works best with a group of 8 or so volunteers, so groups are welcomed! This is a one-time, 1 - 1 1/2 hour commitment. You are welcome to sign up for more than one date.
*CAC is required to run background checks on all individual volunteers. If you are signing up as a group, we only require a background check on the team/group leader.
When?
Every Saturday; 11:45 am - about 1 pm, July 17 – Oct 31
Where?
Apr 13 – Nov 16 @ Dane County Farmers’ Market on the square; the East Washington Ave driveway to the capital (staff will be standing near two large CAC vans)
July 13th at Breese Stevens Field
Aug 31 meeting place TBD - due to the Taste of Madison event
Age restrictions?
Minimum: 18 years or older (or under 18 with supervision).
Join us!
This is a perfect opportunity for anyone interested in social services, food systems, or sustainable agriculture; as well as student, church, and work groups. You help others eat well, get plenty of fresh air, and get to know the Farmers’ Market and its vendors! This program helps people access locally farmed and produced food; aiding in nutrition, community development, and local and sustainable food production.
If you are interested but have concerns about COVID safety, please review this link regarding COVID safety at the market and feel free to reach out to the email below with any questions.
For questions, please contact Lindsey at lindseyk@cacscw.org.
