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Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley, 968 Postal Road, Suite 100 Allentown PA 18109, 610-807-0336, vc@volunteerlv.org
Opportunity Details
Growing Partners Intern
Title: Growing Partners Intern
Department: Nutrition and Seed Farm
Reports to: Nutrition Educator and Greenhouse Manager
Location:
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Second Harvest Food Bank (Nazareth, PA)
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The Seed Farm (Emmaus, PA)
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Food Pantries in Allentown, Whitehall, Bethlehem, Easton, Lehighton, Slatington, and Saylorsburg areas
Hours:
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Schedule may change week to week based on needs, but generally it will be Monday through Friday, typical business hours.
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Occasional weekends and evenings are needed, and time can be flexed during the week to accommodate this.
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We are looking for an individual that can commit to the majority of the growing season, May through August (longer if available).
Summary:
Ready to roll up your sleeves and make a meaningful impact on a population's ability to access and use healthy food? This internship is a great opportunity for a student who’s passionate about the well-being and health of the community in which they live. You’ll be doing hands-on work to get nutritious foods into the hands of neighbors who need it and following the process full circle to help them select and use those foods. If you’re tired of being behind a desk learning about theory and are ready to get your hands dirty (both figuratively and literally) this is the internship for you.
The Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania (SHFB) Healthy Pantry Initiative (HPI) and The Seed Farm are looking for an enthusiastic, energetic, and reliable individual to assist with the Growing Partners Program during the 2025 season. This is the third season of the program, and it continues to grow and evolve.
The Growing Partners Program installs gardens at food pantries in the SHFB network, provides the necessary seeds and transplants to fill these gardens and technical assistance with gardening as needed. The program also interacts with neighbors that use the food pantries to provide gardening and nutrition education, food samples of garden/farm harvests using healthy recipes, seed packets, and herb transplants.
Tasks the intern can expect to be involved with include:
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Seed Farm
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Assist with the Spring and/or Fall Plant Sale, sorting and cataloging inventory post sale, reviewing donation requests and coordinating the distribution of transplants to community-based garden sites under the supervision of the Greenhouse Manager.
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Assist the Greenhouse Manager in supporting the pantry coordinators and volunteers/staff that oversee gardens at pantry locations including garden builds, planting, weeding, harvesting, delivering supplies, providing education, etc.
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Contribute to/create communications content for farm newsletters and social media as interested.
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Nutrition
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Work with SHFB Nutrition Educator to select/develop recipes for taste testing produce from The Seed Farm/Pantry Gardens with the goal of introducing new produce to pantry customers and increasing the chances of consuming these foods at home.
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Providing nutrition education to pantry customers about basic nutrition concepts and preparing healthy foods at home, including food demonstrations and hands on cooking with individuals in classes. Training will be provided on food safety and basic food/nutrition information as needed based on intern experience.
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Assist with the collection and monitoring of data throughout the season to be used in grant reporting. This includes harvest poundage reports, neighbor interviews, pantry coordinator interviews, student counts and tallies of samples/recipes/ transplants given out to neighbors.
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Time allowing
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Other projects as needed to support SHFB and The Seed Farm in the promotion of fresh, locally grown produce.
*Intern must have their own transportation/vehicle and be willing to travel to all working locations and transport necessary supplies.
Preferred Interest/Experience:
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Farming/Gardening
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Nutrition
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Sustainable Food Systems
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Cooking/Culinary
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Health
Required Skills:
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Customer-service oriented
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Friendly
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Out-going
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Dependable
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Passionate
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Committed
*Spanish speaking is a plus, but not required.
Physical Requirements:
Must be willing and able to work in all weather conditions, in a typical office environment and in the community setting. Tasks will include physical labor at times.
Food Access & Hunger
Families, Homeless, Immigrants, Refugees or Ethnic Groups, Low-income communities, Military/Veterans, Children and Youth
Age Minimum (with Adult): 18+, Minimum Age:18+
Express Interest
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