Garden and Market Coordinator – Halton Environmental Network – Ontario

Role
To support all areas of good food delivery at Open Doors at St. Christopher’s and develop best practices for all food programs in order to comply with Good Food Organization principles. Engage and empower volunteers to plan, prepare, plant and maintain the Community Garden beds. Ensure that community members have access to safe, nutritious and, whenever possible, culturally appropriate food options. Contribute to and maintain a Good Food Policy for all of Open Doors programming. Educate and welcome continued education in food security, procurement, and harvesting on-site. Support food literacy classes, and liaise with Community Garden and Community Market partners on available programming metrics. Be able to see the bigger picture in the food movement throughout the programs.
A successful candidate will have a strong love for food, feeding people and growing food as we utilize food grown onsite in our community garden in our meals and market program. They will be compassionate about the needs of others and be open to learning and growing within their role. They will be able to demonstrate the ability to work in groups as well as independently, have experience leading a team, be enthusiastic about good food and be passionate about making meaningful impacts on the community. Experience in horticulture is a desired requirement as a basic aptitude for computer programs and social media.

Responsibilities:
Community Gardens at Open Doors
Plan, coordinate and implement the planting of the garden each season
Communicate with volunteers about what the needs are in the garden to ensure its success
Harvest food regularly to support the meal program and the community market
Organizes occasional work days with support of church property committee
Oversee and mentor summer students
Evaluate methods of community engagement and continually develop innovative ways to include the community.
Animate volunteers and community for big harvests and teamwork!
Collaborate with Halton Food and help record and meet specific targets
Communicate successes, as well as needs through social media an in any weekly/monthly newsletter available (social media should tag Halton Food and Halton Environmental Network when relevant)
Track weights of compost, harvest and waste to help build a story around goals in environmental sustainability
Expected tasks directly reportable to Halton Environmental Network
creating and planting plans for all gardens in Halton Community Housing and community partner sites for spring 2023
conducting cooking workshops
design and build container gardens and outreach to seniors
assist with recommendations for new projects, especially in Halton Hills
assist with spring plant swaps and sales, including fundraising opportunities at Open Doors
develop new workshops and community outreach opportunities
share all metrics kept with regards to the food movement from the Open Doors garden
Community Market
Coordinate Community Market needs; monitor stock, organize volunteers, order food when needed, communicate with food agency partners
Ensure Food Bank standards are met, offering quality produce and moving towards Food Policy goals as well as Environmental Greening goals
Change the narrative of what a food bank is and move towards a more progressive and inclusive space for all
Train volunteers and ensure proper statistics are being kept to meet grant matrix.
Schedule and communicate with volunteers about guidelines and expectations.
Rescue food for preserving/extending its life
Offer a welcoming space for the community to come to rely on for nutritious options
Communicate success and as well as needs through social media and weekly/monthly newsletter available
Other tasks
Collaborate and support Good Food Coordinator with literacy programs, meal planning and any other food and garden related activities
Be available for work a minimum of two Saturdays a month
Other tasks as assigned
This role reports to the Program Manager at Open Doors and is responsible to the Director of Programs and Partnerships, Rector and Corporation of St. Christopher’s Church. This role is also responsible to the Director, Sustainable Environments at Halton Environmental Network.

Please e-mail your resume and a brief covering letter to:
amanda@haltonenvironment.ca
subject: Garden and Market Coordinator

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