Category Volunteer News

Kathy Helms is one of the most versatile volunteers at Food Forward in Ventura County.  Kathy has volunteered more than 120 hours with Food Forward From volunteering at our office, to helping out at the Ventura Community Garden, to helping out at strawberry farm gleans,…

I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff within the first few weeks of my time working at Food Forward. Right off the bat, you could tell how enthusiastic he was about his role as a volunteer and could see the connection he…

Written by Andrea Howry, Ventura County Backyard Harvest Coordinator On a misty summer morning, behind rows and rows of towering tomato vines, verdant zucchini plants, and lime-green butter lettuces, a retired teacher quietly picks beans and places them by the…

Meet our Volunteer of the Month, Christine Chang! Christine only started volunteering with us in January, training to become a “Solo Harvester” during the pandemic. Though she was new to volunteering with us, Christine hit the ground running, picking about…

Our Volunteer of the Month is Jared McMahon! Jared is a Glean Team Leader who has been volunteering with Food Forward since 2017, and in that time, he’s volunteered at 45 events! He frequently volunteers at westside farmers markets, and…

Our Volunteer of the Month is the wonderful Deanne Derse! Deanne first started volunteering with Food Forward in 2019, and she quickly became a Super Volunteer. Deanne is a Pick Leader, Glean Team Leader in Ventura County—she also often frequently…

We are so happy to announce that Pooja is our Volunteer of the Month! Pooja has been leading harvests since December 2019. Throughout the pandemic, she’s been a super harvester, picking almost every weekend! In her time with Food Forward,…

Our Volunteer of the Month is Payal Patel! Payal led 24 times last year, and she attended the first Agency Spotlight event we opened up to Glean Team Leaders right before the pandemic. She has been a huge help at…

Our Volunteer of the Month is Trish Carruth, one of our Glean Team Leaders in Ventura County! At the beginning of the pandemic, Trish had not volunteered with Food Forward for over two years. But as soon as she heard…

Meet our volunteer of the month, Brenda Rees! Brenda has been volunteering with Food Forward for several years and is a trained Pick Leader, Glean Team Leader, and Community Ambassador. As a Pick Leader, Brenda is an active and passionate…