Employment 2024
Position: Faith Community Supported Agriculture Manager
Good Courage Farm, a 501(c)(3) agrarian ministry affiliated with The Episcopal Church in Minnesota
Located in Hutchinson, Minnesota
Employment Status: Hourly, 30 hours/week, seasonal May 15 - October 15
Rate: $20-25 per hour, depending on experience
Apply by April 5, 2024
Organization Description: Good Courage Farm (GCF), incorporated in 2021 as a 501(c)(3) is a working regenerative farm that creates space for cultivating agrarian faith practices and building a just foodshed. Together with congregations and individuals, Good Courage Farm’s work restores soil and biodiversity, shares food as Christ taught us, and invites people to meet the Creator in the abundance and beauty of Creation.
Position Description: FCSA (Faith Community Supported Agriculture) Manager
Good Courage Farm provides fresh, local produce to central Minnesota residents through its “buy-one, give-one” FCSA program. The FCSA Manager reports to the Executive Director. The FCSA Manager oversees the seasonal produce subscription program that delivers fruit, vegetables and eggs to drop sites at Hutchinson and Twin Cities area churches and nonprofit food access organizations. Our food crops are primarily perennial and include asparagus, rhubarb, apples, pears, plums, cherries, currants, elderberries, grapes, raspberries. The farm also provides duck eggs and chicken eggs for sale and donation.
This is a seasonal position, May through October, that works closely with the Farm Manager and the Executive Director to tend, harvest, clean, sort, pack, and deliver produce on a twice-monthly schedule. The FCSA makes sure that all available produce is either sold or donated through our solidarity FCSA program or other channels. The FCSA Manager works alongside interns and volunteers who support harvesting and packing the produce as well as delivering and distributing shares at the church-based pick-up sites. This is an excellent position for anyone passionate about food justice - you will be ensuring fresh, local produce gets into the hands of our Minnesota neighbors regardless of their ability to afford first-quality fruit, vegetables and eggs. It is also an excellent opportunity for anyone with office/administrative experience looking to use those skills while still enjoying plenty of time away from their desk.
Responsibilities:
Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
● Collaborate with the Executive Director to ensure a full FCSA. This includes helping to generate print and social media marketing as well as visiting partner churches to spread the word about the FCSA. The Manager will also think creatively about ways to connect to new participants.
● Work with Farm Manager to carry out all seasonal tasks related to FCSA crops, including weeding, mulching, irrigating, thinning, harvesting and cleaning.
● Communicate labor needs and opportunities to Farm Manager and involve interns and volunteers in harvesting and packing FCSA crops as appropriate.
● Work together with farm staff and volunteers in post-harvest of produce for FCSA (sorting, cleaning, weighing, cooling, packing)
● Use Farmigo to track participants, payments, and pick/pack plans
● Recruit, on-board, and supervise volunteer Site Coordinators (who get get a free share)
● Maintain appropriate field records and harvest records
● Plan and execute all eight FCSA pack-outs (May-September) to supporting (paid) subscribers. This includes scheduling volunteers and delivery driver, ensuring available crops with farm team, and helping with the physical packing of the shares
● Plan and execute all solidarity share deliveries, which involves communicating with four food access partner organizations and their volunteers as well as the volunteers serving Good Courage Farm.
● Track servings of donated produce
● Work with Farm Manager to ensure that surplus farm produce is sold or donated through FCSA channels if possible, or through other channels as necessary
● Interact with FCSA participants in a courteous manner
● Follow Good Agricultural Practices and ensure that volunteers comply with all health and safety regulations around food handling
● Write and send biweekly newsletter to participants
● Create materials for FCSA boxes weekly/biweekly - recipes, information about produce, etc.
2024 is a pilot year for Good Courage’s FFCSA. We are looking for a manager who will set the program up to flourish in the coming years. This will mean thinking about crops, scheduling, and outreach in a bigger way.
Work Environment:
Work to be conducted primarily at Good Courage Farm, with some travel to the Twin Cities metro area (mileage paid, or business vehicle made available). This position regularly requires evening and weekend hours.
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
● Some lifting up to 50 lbs.
● Ability to climb ladders
● Outdoor exposure to heat, rain, direct sunlight, wind, insects, plants, livestock
● Prolonged periods of standing and/or walking
● Ability to sit for more than an hour at a time
● Keyboarding/screen use
Qualifications:
● 3-5 years of experience in small-scale farming
● Capacity for big-picture organization while attending to complex, detailed systems
● Comfort using online sales portals and databases
● Familiarity with Good Agricultural Practices
● Clear communication style, good written and verbal skills
● Knowledge of fruits, especially post-harvest handling - preferred
Candidates must have the ability to not only see obstacles, but craft feasible solutions to meet goals; demonstrate a commitment to cultivating community and promoting equity and inclusion; be a great team player; team-minded but able to work independently and passionate about food justice; possess an interest in regenerative farming; have a love of learning, and a desire to grow professionally and personally. People of all faiths and none are encouraged to apply, but applicants should have an appreciation for the organization’s faith-based values of justice-seeking neighbor-love and willingness to work in a progressive Christian environment. The nonprofit may be able to assist applicants in finding short-term, affordable local housing.
To Apply: Please send your resume and cover letter to hello@goodcourage.farm with the subject line FCSA Manager. Candidates offered a video interview will also be asked to provide three references. Good Courage Farm is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized status including but not limited to: veteran status, uniform member status, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, or any other protected class under federal, state or local law. Consistent with the policy of nondiscrimination, Good Courage Farm will provide reasonable accommodations to a qualified individual with a disability as defined by the ADA and similar state laws.
Good Courage Farm especially encourages local residents to apply. Our ministry is queer-led and committed to the work of dismantling racism.