FOOD For Lane County Youth Farm
FOOD For Lane County Youth FarM
2 APPRENTICESHIPS
PART TIME (28 hours/week)
APPROX START/END DATES: March - November
$18/HR
LOCATION: Eugene (Willamette Valley Chapter)
YEARS IN PRODUCTION: 31
PREVIOUS YEARS HOSTING: 1
PRACTICES: Organic Practices (Not Certified)
ACRES IN CULTIVATION: 7
Vegetable Production, Culinary Herbs, Fruit, Nursery Stock, Cut Flowers
ON-FARM HOUSING? No
VEHICLE REQUIRED? No, we are not located next to public bus lines but they are coming in Spring!
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 30 years, serving the community healthy food while creating opportunities for youth, beginning farmers and volunteers. We have moved farm operations and 2026 will be our first year at our new site. 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 7 acres of diverse vegetable crops as well as a new orchard of approximately 100 fruit trees (apples, pears, peaches, Asian pears, plums), strawberries, thornless blackberries and raspberries and a 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. For our new, larger farm, we have also purchased new tractor implements for cultivating, seeding and spreading amendments. 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 and Maintenance 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 25 acre site in Lane County close to Eugene and Springfeild. We recently moved to this new site from a property in North Springfield, and are thrilled to have the opportunity to re-create our farm on a property owned by Food For Lane County. The Farm is on prime agricultural land, and a farmhouse. Since taking ownership, we’ve built nine high tunnel greenhouses, planted a large fruit tree orchard and blueberry patch, established extensive irrigation, put in a rainwater catchment system, cover cropped the main produce growing areas, and enclosed the property in deer fencing. We have many more plans for the future infrastructure and demonstration gardens. This is an exciting time to be a part of developing a new farm for an established program. The preoperty is close to the Mt. Buford Park recreational distrcit, which includes Mt. Pisgah Arboretum and several other land-based community organizations. The neighboring towns of Eugene and Springfield offer plenty of cultural, entertainment and recreation opportunities, including music venues, art scene, free lecture at the university, bike paths, close-in hiking trails, lakes, and rivers for boating and swimming.
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 3rd, four days/week (Tuesday-Friday), with some additional weekend duties on occasion. 8:30am-4:30pm is a typical work schedule with a half hour for an unpaid lunch. 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 20th. Apprentices can request up to two weeks off, unpaid.
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, weed management, food preservation and cover cropping. 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. 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
$18/hr for 28 hours/week. Sick time accrual is included. Apprentices receive 2 paid 10 minute breaks, and are required to take a half hour unpaid for lunch. OFC 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 as we do not offer housing at this time.
Pay will be directly deposited into your bank account every two weeks. Details are in the FOOD For Lane County Employee Handbook. Reimbursement of OFC tuition is included if you complete the full season. Farm Produce and starts are provided as available.
EQUITY AND INCLUSION
Compassion, Inclusion and Collaboration are the stated core 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.
Our supervisors have received training in conflict resolution, micro-agressions, gender diversity, nuerodivergence and how inequities permeate in our food system. Which leads to less access to quality, culturally appropriate food for LGBTQIA2S+, BIPOC, immigrant and disabled populations.
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.