volunteering at Sorauren Farmers’ Market
Board Members
Sorauren Farmers’ Market is looking for 2-3 new directors to join our board. We are keen to continue to expand and diversify our programming to support our weekly market and are looking for members who would like to join us as we plan for the future. View Goodwork.ca for the full listing. Please APPLY HERE. We are not currently seeking new members.
The Sorauren Farmers’ Market is a weekly event that is one of the most popular in the neighbourhood. It relies on volunteers to bring it to life: without them it simply wouldn’t be possible to provide all the necessary services and support.
Benefits to Volunteers include:
Discounts from vendors
Camaraderie with other volunteers
Getting to know the vendors and how they supply their high quality and responsibly grown and prepared products
Knowing that you are providing a service to the community
Access to surplus produce - particularly at the end of summer Markets
After a shift you might want to stay at the Market for a snack or meal in the company of other volunteers. After any shift you can return to your office or home refreshed, with a clear head and the sense of a good job well done.
Setup & takedown
Do you work at a home-office and need a break to stretch and socialize a bit? Perhaps a Setup or Takedown shift at the Market would suit you!
There are quite a few items of “furniture” that the Market uses, including tables, canopies and signs. They are stored in the Field House, mostly in the basement, and need to be brought up and set up at the beginning of the Market (1-3pm) and put away at the end (7-8:30pm). This is what begins to convert an empty room or outdoor area into a Marketplace!
The Setup and Takedown are active jobs that involve:
Carrying things, some of them awkward, up and down stairs
Setting up tables, canopies, signs and other items of the “furniture”.
Helping to maintain the furniture
Helping vendors get their produce and their furniture from the street to the Field House or Square.
Dealing with “the unexpected” that always seems to come up.
And sometimes it rains…
Hot drinks cafe & dish service (not happening during Covid-19)
Do you have a housekeeping and service bent and want to promote a green operation? You might enjoy running the Market’s Kitchen. It is a combination of two related services that operate from a single galley:
Setting up the Coffee and Tea Service at the beginning and keeping the hot drinks, and cups, coming during the Market. The coffee and tea are also a source of revenue for the Market.
The Dish Service helps the Market achieve its goal of being low-waste by providing, and collecting and cleaning dishes so the vendors, and its own Hot Drinks Service, don’t need to supply disposable ones.
The Kitchen runs for the duration of the Market (roughly 2 to 8pm) and is usually staffed in more than one shift. It is quite busy, especially in summer, and needs more than one person to handle distributing, collecting, cleaning and re-distributing dishes and cutlery appropriate to the offerings of different vendors.
Information table
There is a lot going on and Market shoppers have many questions. After you have some experience with the Market you might want to take a shift at the Information Table and make those connections.
If you are interested in joining us, or have further questions, please enter your details below. We look forward to meeting you!
