About the GrowTeam Program

The GrowTeam Program invites Vermonters onto local farms and gardens to grow their own food.

Through community partnerships we develop access to land and gardens for Vermonters who are experiencing unemployment and food insecurity. 

We hope that by providing access to land and education we can foster a more sustainable local food system and empower others to take the same actions in their own communities. We provide GrowTeam members with education and access to land needed to grow their own food while supporting farms facing labor shortages.

If this idea really excites you we still have some spots available so scroll down to learn more!

Join a GrowTeam

Here are some basic expectations we have of participating GrowTeam members. 

  • Commitment of 8/hrs a week working at your site for the remainder of the growing season in exchange for direct access to fresh produce. 
  • Ability to work on a team as well as be able to work independently from a task list. 
  • Complete tasks such as weeding, seeding, transplanting, harvesting, fixing farm infrastructure, with the hope that each individual will learn, grow, and take on more responsibility throughout the season. 

Check out the GrowTeam opportunities below and fill out the sign-up form for each site you are interested in working on. 

After doing so we will get in touch with you to confirm your spot. Please note that people will be accepted depending on their ability to commit to the entire season and on a first come first served basis.

Broad Acres Farm, Vershire, VT
Broad Acres Farm is 160 acres of mostly open pasture land, grazed by a herd of beef cattle and home to Shire Beef. In addition to ongoing jobs around the farm, their focus for this spring is to start a community garden of 9,000 square feet in a no-till, permanent bed system for diversified vegetable crop production to help supply fresh local produce to their community.
Center for Grassroots Organizing, Marshfield, VT

The Grassroots Center has a freshly plowed quarter acre garden. Volunteers will plant veggies, medicinal herbs, perennials, help build lasting infrastructure, and co-create this space. The center is excited to transition to a collective community garden with a focus on supporting food sovereignty and racial justice in their community. 

Sign up for this GrowTeam location. 

Vermont Community Garden Network, Burlington, VT

Thanks for your interest! Spots are currently full. However please sign up for our newsletter and we will announce new opportunities as they arise.

The ShiftMeals Co-op Victory Garden is a collectively-managed garden located within the Tommy Thompson Community Gardens at the Intervale.  A variety of vegetables, culinary and medicinal herbs, and small fruits are grown on 1,200 square feet. This season they are re-envisioning the site to become a mini market garden and produce much more food, with the help of many hands. Two garden co-managers will guide group activities on scheduled work days and smaller crews will work independently to keep up with defined tasks.

Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, Richmond, VT

The Farm at the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps is 10 acres located in Richmond, VT,  where they grow certified organic vegetables and raise pastured pigs and chickens. VYCC is a non-profit farm committed to increasing food access for food insecure Vermont families through their Healthcare Share program. Each week they produce ~400 CSA shares to be distributed at health centers throughout the state to those faced with food insecurity. Volunteers are expected to come on either Tuesdays or Wednesdays from 8am-4pm through September.

Sign up for this GrowTeam location.

Bluffside Farm, Newport, VT

Bluffside Farm is an uniquely awesome resource located in Newport, VT. The historic farm was purchased by the Vermont Land Trust, which is now developing the property as a multi-use resource for the community anchored by food production and recreation trails. This year Bluffside is hosting a 1/4 acre collective community garden and a food access garden in partnership with VYCC’s Healthcare Share and the Abenaki Land Link (squash planting).

Sign up for this GrowTeam location.

The Mountain School, Vershire, VT
The Mountain School is an independent semester school and a working farm with six acres in diversified crop production and orchards and about ninety acres in hayfields and pastures. We raise six kinds of livestock for meat and eggs and grow about five hundred different varieties of fruits and vegetables to feed our students and faculty throughout the year.  This year, we are working with two GrowTeam members to help grow food for our school community as well as our neighbors in Vershire and beyond. 
 
GrowTeam positions are currently full. 

Intervale Center People's Farm, Burlington, VT
Thanks for your interest! Spots are currently full. However please sign up for our newsletter and we will announce new opportunities as they arise.
The People’s Farm is a 1.3 acre farm that operates as part of the Intervale Center’s Gleaning and Food Rescue Program, which provides free fresh produce to hundreds of families in the greater Burlington area each summer. The Farm is focused on producing a significant volume of crops to be distributed through the Program and also to partners like Feeding Chittenden. Crops include carrots, corn, onions, potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, sweet potatoes, beets, watermelon, cilantro, dill, and flowers. This year, we will rely on small corporate volunteer groups, City Market crop mobs, the ShiftMeals GrowTeam, and additional skilled volunteers to grow, harvest and distribute produce. If you are interested in volunteering for the Intervale Center as opportunities arise sign up here!

Interested in hosting a GrowTeam?

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Don't see a GrowTeam site in your community? Reach out!

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