FOOD For Lane County Youth FarM
2 APPRENTICESHIPS
PART TIME (28 hours/week)
APPROX START/END DATES: March - November
$17/HR
LOCATION: Eugene (Willamette Valley Chapter)
YEARS IN PRODUCTION: 29
PREVIOUS YEARS HOSTING: 1
PRACTICES: Organic Practices (Not Certified)
ACRES IN CULTIVATION: 5
Vegetable Production, Culinary Herbs, Fruit, Nursery Stock, Cut Flowers
ON-FARM HOUSING? No
VEHICLE REQUIRED? No, we are located close to public bus line
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: English, Basic Spanish
Urban, Public Education, Non-Profit Farm
We are a program of FOOD For Lane County (FFLC), the regional nonprofit food bank in our area. FFLC is a well respected and innovative organization with the mission of “Reducing hunger by engaging our community to create access to food”. The Youth Farm has been in operation for over 25 years, serving the community healthy food while creating opportunities for youth, beginning farmers and volunteers. We have worked with and trained well over 100 interns over the years. Many are still involved in agriculture, including some as farm owners.
www.foodforlanecounty.org/gardens
https://www.facebook.com/fflcyouthfarm/
FARM OVERVIEW
On the Youth Farm, we cultivate 5 acres of diverse vegetable crops as well as approximately 70 mature fruit trees (apples, pears, Asian pears, plums), strawberries, thornless blackberries and a young blueberry patch. We are not certified organic, but we use all organic methods. We have two small tractors that we run on biodiesel that we use for discing, tilling, bed shaping and mowing. Most other work on the farm is done by hand, including transplanting, weeding, harvesting, and post-harvest handling. Approximately half of our produce is delivered to the FOOD For Lane County warehouse for distribution through our network of partners to those experiencing food insecurity in our county. The remainder we sell through a 180-member CSA, and an onsite produce stand on Saturdays. We also grow vegetable, flower and herb starts for two very large plant sale fundraisers each spring.
Our primary farm crew consists of a Farm Supervisor, Education Coordinator, Field Coordinator and Youth Crew Coordinator, who work from mid-January-early December. During the main growing season, we hire 14 teens to participate in a part-time work experience and job skills program where they attend classes and are trained to do farm work as well as operate our farmstand. Some of our stellar youth are in leadership positions and return for up to 4 consecutive seasons. Our Gardens Program Manager oversees the program. We also host numerous volunteers and volunteer groups at our farm each year, which creates a dynamic and unpredictable element to our crew size on certain days of the week. Overall, our crew each day can range from 4-25 people, depending on the time of year.
The Youth Farm is located on a 10 acre site within Springfield city limits. The land is owned by the local school district and is surrounded by single family homes, duplexes, apartment complexes and a city playground. We share the land with a separately managed community garden as well as a garden project connected to Springfield School District. The only facilities on site are storage sheds, including several shipping containers, roofed, open-air structures, two walk-in coolers, and several high tunnels with over 16,000 square feet of growing space. We are close to city bus lines and bike routes, and both downtown Springfield and Eugene are a 10 minute drive away. The neighboring town of Eugene is a large college town with plenty of entertainment and recreation opportunities, including bike paths, close-in hiking trails, lakes and rivers for boating.
In 2024, we purchased a new 25 acre farm, which is located just outside of Eugene City limits and 15 minutes away from our current farm. This will become our new, permanent home! We are actively developing the new site with plans to be farming there exclusively in 2026. This is a very exciting new development and will create an incredible opportunity for Apprentices to take part in developing a new farm.
TRAINING AND EXPECTATIONS
Apprentices will be trained in various aspects of the operation including orchard care (pruning, thinning, pest management), nursery and greenhouse management, and growing a wide variety of annual produce (over 40 crops). Work will include seeding, planting, cultivation and weed management, fertilization, harvesting, wash/pack, irrigation set-up and watering, composting, CSA and market set up and distribution, and use of small farm equipment (barrel washer, salad spinner, vacuum seeder, walk behind tillers, flame weeders and lawn care equipment).
Apprentices will also have the opportunity to help run our onsite produce stand, including set-up, take down and customer service. They will be involved in packing boxes for our CSA customers, which we do 2 times per week for a 25 week season.
Depending on interest, Apprentices will have the opportunity to lead volunteers and youth participants once they are trained.
We would like Apprentices to begin on March 4th, four days/week (Tuesday-Friday), with some additional weekend duties on occasion. 8:30am-4:00pm is a typical work schedule. An early start to the season will give Apprentices the opportunity to learn pruning on some of our fruit trees. They will also be integrally involved in preparations for our two plant sales, including seeding and tending starts, and organizing for the sales that occur in April and May. The Apprenticeship will end on November 25th. Apprentices can request up to two weeks off, and will earn vacation time and paid holidays.
Our staff works alongside Apprentices, and we train as we introduce new tasks. We hold morning check-in stretching circles as well as frequent crew meetings. We take monthly field walks, and will do our best to address topics that Apprentices are interested in. Our Apprenticeship educational program consists of lectures, occasional field trips, hand-outs, and mostly hands-on learning. We have a curriculum of educational topics, including composting, nutrient management and soil testing, plant propagation and nursery management, orchard management and fruit tree pruning, crop planning and rotation, winter farming, greenhouse management and construction, irrigation, cultivation and weed management, food preservation and cover cropping. These on farm classes will supplement Rogue Farm Corps online Educational Event Series and weekend intensives.
QUALIFICATIONS
Passion for organic farming, gardening or outdoor work
Previous experience in working with plants outdoors, agriculture, landscaping, etc. (Prefer 1-3 years experience)
Interest or experience in working with youth and community members
Ability to lift 50 pounds and perform physical farm tasks in adverse weather conditions
Excellent attention to detail
Good communication skills
Organized and reliable
Share FFLC’s values of Compassion, Inclusion and Collaboration
COMPENSATION / ACCOMMODATIONS
$17/hr for 28 hours/week. Vacation time accrual, sick time, and holiday pay are included. Apprentices receive 2 paid 10 minute breaks, and are required to take a half hour unpaid for lunch. RFC events are not part of payable hours.
Shared housing as well as apartments and studios can be found in both Eugene and Springfield. Check Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace to get an idea.
Pay will be by check, directly deposited, into your bank account every two weeks. Vacation time accrual, sick time and holiday pay are included. Details are in the FOOD For Lane County Employee Handbook. Reimbursement of RFC tuition is included if you complete the full season. Farm Produce and starts are provided as available.
EQUITY AND INCLUSION
Inclusion is one of the values of our organization, FOOD for Lane County. We are all invested in and strive to create a safe, open, productive work environment for everyone involved, and prioritize community building, straight forward communication, and validation and appreciation.
FOOD for Lane County has an Equity Manager, and all of our staff take monthly trainings which include: understanding privilege and inherent biases, microaggressions and how to interrupt them, racism and other forms of oppression, intersectionality, how to celebrate diversity, and creating equitable and inclusive workplaces. In addition, our supervisors have received training in conflict resolution and neurodivergence.
PAST APPRENTICE TESTIMONIALS
“The mentors are both teachers and farmers. There are many opportunities to learn new things and be in leadership roles with volunteers and youth farmers.” -2024
Youth Farm staff.