A MESSAGE TO OUR VOLUNTEERS ABOUT OUR COVID-19 RESPONSE

ProduceGood is operating under specific safety precautions to support the growing need for food assistance throughout our community. Using common sense as a general guide, we ask all ProduceGood staff and volunteers to comply with current state health mandates, as they unfold. Together, we can increase safe access to nutrition for children and families during this uncertain time. We thank you for benefiting the well-being of our community.

Get Involved

Join our Community Orchard of volunteers who rescue tons of whole fruits and vegetables 52 weeks a year, for those who need it most.

Meet us at the market, in the orchard or on the farm, our outdoor locales in San Diego County are sure to bring a smile to your face and in some cases you may be serving alongside family members or friends. You commit to only one event at a time, register and sign a waiver online, and show up as promised to help get the job done.

Sign Up TO Volunteer

Location:
Help us recover unwanted fruits and vegetables in order to feed the 1 in 3 people of San Diego County who do not know where their next meal is coming from. Join other volunteers of all ages, abilities and beliefs to collect unsold produce at farmers markets or harvest fruit or veggies in backyard orchards or small farms–together we will solve the problem of hunger and waste in one sweet step.

All programs take place at sites in SD County. Volunteers must have reliable transportation unless they live within the environs of one of our event sites. We operate every Sunday at Hillcrest and Leucadia Farmers Markets; Monday-Friday mornings for our CropSwap/Quick Picks and occasional Sunday mornings for our large group Big Picks.

Volunteer Opportunities

Each of our activities offers a unique opportunity for volunteers to participate in the harvesting of fresh fruit and/or vegetables. We have lots of activities to choose from…

Drivers/Fruit Loopers:
Make a difference in San Diego by transporting produce from homes, farmers markets or small farms to our partners who feed seniors, veterans, children and other individuals in need. Being a ProduceGood driver helps us fulfill our mission by supplying our network of receiving agencies who benefit over 500,000 food insecure San Diegans with a steady and fresh supply of produce. As a volunteer driver for ProduceGood, you will drive to a pick-up location in your car and transport fruits and vegetables to local agencies. “Pick-up” locations include Hillcrest and Leucadia Farmers Markets, several small farms in Encinitas and a variety of north county residences and feeding agencies and “Drop-off” locations are typically within 5-10 miles of pick-up.

Scheduler/Data Master:
Are you an organized person who likes to navigate digital platforms? If so, you can join our advance and post program work by supporting our event scheduling or data collection activities. We need reliable volunteers to support our programs from the inside out.

CropSwap Big Pick:
9 a.m.-noon on occasional Sundays. All ages. Gets you in a north county residential orchard with the butterflies and bees, picking citrus by hand or with a picker pole and preparing it for transport.

CropSwap Quick Pick:
9a.m.-11 a.m. weekdays, Monday – Fridays. All ages. Puts you on a residential north county property picking fruit and then dropping it off at a local receiving agency.

CropSwap > Pick Boss:
Once you learn the ropes and have two training sessions, you will lead a volunteer team to glean (primarily citrus) from residential orchards in San Diego County. You will use your leadership skills to oversee a gleaning event, guiding volunteer teams to engage in safe and effective protocols in picking and harvesting fruit. In this core volunteer role, you will be serving as a ProduceGood ambassador, using your energy and commitment to our mission to get the job done and perhaps make new contacts to drive our success further.

Market Share:
Sundays 1pm – 3pm, all year. Adults 18 and over. Takes place at Farmers Markets in SD County. Gets you involved with logistics, engaging with vendors to determine need, dropping collapsible bins, picking up the bins and assisting with weighing and packing produce for transport, as necessary.

Market Share > Market Boss:
Once you learn the ropes, lead a volunteer team to pick up fruits and vegetables donated by specific farmer/vendors that will be organized and then supplied to our partners that feed at-risk individuals or process with zero-waste. After serving as a Market Share volunteer, use your leadership skills to oversee a market event, guiding a small volunteer team to engage in all the necessary steps for produce recovery through Market share. In this core volunteer role you will be serving as a ProduceGood ambassador, using your energy and commitment to our mission to get the job done and perhaps make new contacts to drive our success further.

Please visit our program pages to learn what we do, how we do it and decide where you fit: