The Central Texas Food Bank is working hard to close the hunger gap and we want you to join us! Our mission is “to nourish hungry people and lead the community in the fight against hunger.” We are accomplishing this by recruiting motivated, mission driven volunteers.

The Central Texas Food Bank (CTFB) is looking for Garden Volunteer Leaders for our garden programs. Supervised by the Food Bank’s Garden Team, Garden Leaders will lead other volunteers through a 3-hour volunteer shift. The Garden shifts currently run Wednesday-Friday, 9am-12pm.

Before becoming a Garden Leader, you will:

• Volunteer in the garden at least 5 times before applying.
• Work with a member of our Volunteer Engagement team who will answer any questions you have about the position and get information about your skills, schedule and availability.
• Complete an orientation with the Garden Manager on tool use, storage, work flows, etc.

We are looking for volunteers who will be able to meet these requirements:

• Strong gardening knowledge and horticultural skills including plant ID, harvest standards, pest and disease management, ergonomics, first aid and basic mechanics/carpentry.
• Minimum 3 years experience growing vegetables in Central Texas.
• Ability to teach and lead groups of novice gardeners in a range of tasks.
• Ability to modify and adapt gardening tasks to a wide range of abilities and skill levels.
• Ability to quickly engage the attention and interest of groups of strangers.
• Ability to gauge the pace and productivity of the team and re-assign or re-instruct volunteers as needed.
• Able to work outside in all different types of weather.
• Commit to 1 shift per week for a 6 month minimum.
• Volunteers must follow our volunteer agreement and code of conduct.
• Volunteers must meet pandemic health and safety requirements.

You are a great candidate if you are:

• Enthusiastic about working with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Passionate about helping others.
• Flexible and adaptable to change.
• Bonus points for Spanish, or other language fluency/proficiency.

To apply, please email the Food Bank’s Volunteer Engagement team at volunteer@centraltexasfoodbank.org and let us know what date(s) you are interested in.