Help plant/and or harvest farm fresh produce to the hungry in Ventura County. Be one of the first grassroot volunteers in our community to plant produce starters to grow romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, cabbage, and cauliflower for our pilot produce program. This is a seven week rotation. Each week we plant Tuesday through Thursday (and Friday if needed) and repeat the planting of seedlings for five to six weeks. The last two weeks we harvest and/or plant.
We want this program to be as successful as the Orange County food bank's program. Watch this YouTube link for inspiration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tR5GbVI5eU and the news story about it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=936Asao1_Og
This is an exciting partnership with Deardorff Family Farms and Food Share! Motivation for developing the Farm Share pilot program:
"Kate Deardorff is a junior in high school who has volunteered with Food Share on many occasions including for the College Park food distribution, produce packing, and gardening. Kate realized two main themes: (a) there is a consistent need from low-income families for healthy food; and (b) the quality and consistency of fresh vegetables available to Food Share programs could be better."
Check out our facebook link:
https://www.facebook.com/FoodShareofVenturaCounty?mibextid=LQQJ4d
Check out our YouTube link: https://youtu.be/4r16zjhB9I8
If you can't bend you can stand and make holes for the planters. This is not good for anyone with knee or back issues.
Attire: Layer casual clothing such as shorts and long pants, long sleeves, and a sweatshirt. Wear a hat and bring sunscreen. Try to bring a refillable water bottle (if not, water is available). Please keep hydrated even though you think you are not thirsty, you are! Bring garden gloves or we have ones you can borrow.
Two shifts 8am-10am and 9:45am-Noon. Feel free to stay all four hours if you would like to.
Driving directions to Deardorff Farms, 1200 Wood Road, Camarillo, CA 93033 Look for Food Share Road signs telling you which dirt driveway to turn in.
From East on US-101 N From Thousand Oaks Area:
- Depart US-101 N
- Exit 52 Santa Rosa Rd toward Pleasant Valley Road
- Turn left Santa Rosa Road 0.2 miles.
- Continue onto Pleasant Valley Road 2.1 miles
- Turn left onto CA-34W/E 5th street 3.5 miles
- Turn left onto Wood Road
- Arrive at 1200 Wood Road, Camarillo, CA 93033
From West on US-101 South from Ventura Area:
- Depart US-101 S
- Exit 59for Del Norte Blvd
- Turn right onto N Del Norte Blvd 1.6 miles.
- Keep left to continue toward CA-34 E/E 5th St 446 feet
- Turn left onto CA-34 E/E 5th St 1.8 miles
- Turn right onto Wood Rd
- Arrive at 1200 Wood Road, Camarillo, CA 93033
From East (on CA-126 W) from Santa Paula Area:
- Depart CA-126
- Exit Wells Road to Saticoy
- Turn right on CA-118 S Wells road
- Continue straight onto Los Angeles Avenue
- Turn right onto Santa Clara Avenue
- Continue onto Rice Ave continue until fifth street
- Turn left onto CA-34 E/E 5th St
- Arrive at 1200 Wood Road, Camarillo, CA 93033
Parking: Free volunteer parking in dirt lot. Look for Food Share signs.
Harvest starts in July 2023!!!!
If you are a group of 31 or more please send an email to volunteer@foodshare.com to let us know total number of people and the date you would like to help on the farm. With enough notice we can take up to 50 people at one time.
Thank you for being part of an exciting new adventure helping us make this new pilot program a permanent way to get our hungry V.C. residents fresh produce!!!
