VOLUNTEER
Want to help change the city and make some friends?
Volunteering at CPFM
It takes a village to make CPFM the community food hub that it is. Join the crew that makes it happen!
What Volunteers do
Accessibility champions
Volunteers help process the following transactions to make our market more accessible to everyone:
Vendor advocates
The vendor team at CPFM is made up hundreds of passionate small business owners. Farmers market days, although fun and communal, can be long and hot! So we do our best to serve our vendor community by checking in frequently, filling up water bottles, and giving bathroom breaks if they are staffing a tent alone! This is an incredible part of the job because it drives community, engages relationships, and creates an environment of generosity.
Setup or teardown
Volunteers lend a hand with either setup or teardown, depending on which shift they take. Between the info tent, music tent, tables and chairs, pedestrian barriers, cones, and zero-waste stations, there is a surprising amount of infrastructure that goes into the farmers market. A few extra hands make this quick and satisfying work!
question pros
Whether you are a first year or fifth year volunteer, you will be asked a wide variety of questions from, “where are the toilets” to “what’s in season, and where can I find a specific item.” Volunteers do not have to know all of the answers! But engaging customers in a helpful way, directing questions to someone who might know the answer, and growing a knowledge base about the market is an important part of the job.
Compost warriors
At every “zero waste station” there are three bins - trash, recycling, and compost. Almost everything coming from CPFM is compostable, and it takes some extra support to make sure that compost is properly sorted. Because of our volunteers, we divert thousands of pounds of what would otherwise be landfill waste.
merch sales
In addition to processing SNAP/DUFB/WIC transactions and fielding questions from customers, the info tent also transacts merchandise sales. Farmers market shirts, posters, and hats are sold to customers looking to represent CPFM. These sales are not critical to the fundamental success of the farmers market, but help spread brand awareness and a communal identity that can be helpful for long term viability.
