Job Type: Seasonal Full-Time (April-November, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: 5 Loaves Farm, Buffalo, NY

Compensation: $15/hour

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Assist with the planning, construction, maintenance, and harvest of 5 Loaves Farm’s market gardens; marketing of our produce; and facilitation of community outreach programs.

• Assist farm manager in the implementation of a yearly garden plan, including crop planting, seedling management, cultivation, pest control, irrigation, composting, fertilization, harvesting, post-harvest processing tasks, and updating planning spreadsheets and harvest logs.

• Provide staffing at CSA pick-up, farm stands, and assist with deliveries.

• Collaborate with other farm staff on community outreach, including distributing marketing materials and assisting with planning and implementing events for farm, farmhouse, and church.

• Assist in the supervision of volunteers & youth staff.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• College graduate or equivalent professional experience in agriculture

• College coursework related to ecology, OR

• Work experience in agriculture, gardening, or landscaping

DESIRED:  

• Drivers license

• Can lift 50 lbs.

• Experience with cloud-based spreadsheets & documents

• Tuesday through Saturday availability

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

• A passion to serve the West Side community of Buffalo.

• An understanding that farm work is physically and mentally taxing but comes with great rewards.

• The interpersonal skills to offer excellent customer service for a full day at our farmers market stand.

• Independence and self-motivation to efficiently and precisely complete a day’s worth of farming tasks 

• A desire to work with youth from diverse backgrounds and support their growth as employees and individuals.

• An openness to participating in the farm’s rhythms of prayer, study, and reflection intertwined with farm work. 

• Excitement about working for a small, community-based non-profit organization and using their unique skills and creativity to help shape this organization as well as someone that is flexible enough to learn new skills and fill in where needed.

ABOUT 5 LOAVES FARM:

5 Loaves Farm is a ministry of the Buffalo Vineyard Church that redeems vacant lots on Buffalo’s Upper West Side by creating sustainable market gardens that produce healthy food along with educational, economic, and spiritual resources for our neighbors.

We seek to make healthy food available and affordable to all of our neighbors in the city of Buffalo.  We also use sustainable growing methods that are healthy for the planet as well.  

We seek to both teach and learn the life lessons that our gardens and community have to offer.  Whether working with school groups, students after school, or community groups we hope to inspire awe and wonder in a culture increasingly disconnected from their environment and food sources.

We provide over 15 paid internships to neighborhood youth each year, giving them the chance to become positive change agents in their community, while also receiving job skill training from 716 Ministries. 

While working the land we find opportunities to be reconciled to our Creator, community, and all creation.  Taking time to pause and find peaceful spaces to reflect gives us clarity for the way ahead.

We provide life-shaping jobs that provide our staff with highly challenging & highly rewarding opportunities to gain experience with sustainable agriculture, food justice issues, youth & neighbors from diverse backgrounds, & Christian spirituality & mysticism.