Volunteering with Reiman Gardens

Activity Description

Each week, a Grow & Give volunteer will pick up donated produce from vendors at the Ames Main Street Farmers’ Market. Volunteers bring donations to Reiman Gardens to place in the cooler for weighing and distribution to local food pantries the following week.

Activity Instructions

Hours will be automatically logged each week by the system. If you are signed up, you will be automatically recorded as volunteering for 1.5 hours. If you work more or much less than that, please email the Manager of Volunteer Engagement with corrections.

 by Friday afternoon each week:

Pick up our collapsible wagon, crates, and program binder from the back hallway of Reiman Gardens. Drive up the Service Drive next to the Maintenance Building and enter through the back gate entrance. Drive through the open gate and continue around by the greenhouse until you come a door next to a large service (garage-style) door. Please do this during our public hours to ensure the back door is unlocked and gate is open.

Saturday mornings:

The Ames Main Street Farmers’ Market is open 8:00am to 12:30pm. Plan to arrive to the market around noon. You will likely need to park in the lot south of downtown, and walk up to the market using a nearby side street. This is when the collapsible wagon will come in handy and the black crates will fit inside the wagon. The load weight limit for the wagon is just over 200 pounds.

Introduce yourself to the produce vendors and tell them you are there to pick up donations for local food pantries. Ask them if they would like you to leave a crate to fill, and you will return after the market is finished. They will let you know if they have produce to donate – some do and some do not. Some donors like to get a receipt of their donation, so fill one out if requested.

Load the crates in your vehicle and return to Reiman Gardens. Stop into the main building and let the front desk staff know you have produce to drop off. Ask if the back gate entrance is open and if the back door to the building by the greenhouse is unlocked to put produce into the walk-in cooler.

Drive up the Service Drive next to the Maintenance Building and enter through the back gate entrance. The front desk will unlock the back door. Enter through the door and turn right. Walk straight ahead into the headhouse; the front desk staff should also unlock this door. The walk-in cooler is located on the south wall (far wall to the left as you enter). Put all the crates on the shelves or carts in the cooler. When you exit the cooler, be sure that it closes behind you and the light is off. Do not put tomatoes in the cooler. Set crates with tomatoes on the workbench near the cooler.

Please fold up the wagon and leave it in the headhouse, right outside the coolers, when you drop off produce. Shut the headhouse door. 

Requirements

• Onsite volunteer
• Produce Donation Program & Food Safety Training
• Volunteers will use their personal vehicles to transport themselves to and from the Farmer's Market.

Staff Leaders