Interested in Volunteering at the Farmers Markets? 

We'd love to have your help!  Below are details about some of the volunteer positions we have available this season.  Please call or email us if you would like to help out.  The markets are fun, community-oriented events and our staff and volunteers work hard to keep things running smoothly for both shoppers and vendors.

Market Counters

Are you a people watcher? Seattle Farmers Markets are growing and we like to keep track of this growth, so every week during the season we count the customers in our market every half hour. We provide you with a handheld counter and clipboard.
Skills Required: Ability to stand for 10 minutes at a time; ability to avoid distractions.
Minimum Time Commitment: 5-10 minutes every half hour, this job allows for lots of shopping time between counts. Please commit for at least one full length market day.

Market Outreach

 Every spring we need to remind people about the beautiful food available at farmers markets in their neighborhoods. We always need help starting in spring to help us put up our posters in local businesses, community centers, libraries and more. We will provide you with tape, pins and a big stack of posters – as many as you think you can put up!      Skills Required: Ability to get around a neighborhood; no car required. Ability to represent farmers markets well to various locations that will post our sign.    Minimum Time Commitment:  Varies with the project, and extremely flexible.

 Farmer Set-up & Logistics

 Load-off stalls mean that farmers can't bring their trucks onto the market site.  This means unloading all their produce for set-up at their stalls.  Lake City (Thursday) and Phinney (Friday) Farmers Markets are two of our most load-off intensive markets, and we need help at the beginning and end of market days to help farmers move their product during set-up and break down.  Columbia City (Wednesday) Farmers Market also needs help during break-down each week.    Skills Required: Ability to lift 30-50 lbs.     Minimum Time Commitment: Several weeks of volunteering at a market for half an hour to an hour at the beginning of a market (2-3 pm), and/or two hours at the end (6 - 8 pm).  You can commit to either opening or closing or both, but we ask that you commit for at least four weeks, or longer. 

 Annual Fundraiser

 Each year we organize a special fundraising event in August, with proceeds going to the Good Farmer Fund and to the NFMA.  We recruit lots of volunteers for setting up, cleaning up, supervising activities at the event, advance prep work, etc.  The event involves over 20 chefs and farmers, and tickets always sell out!   Skills required: Various, depending on the task.  Ability to lift 30-50 lbs for clean up, etc.     Minimum Time Commitment: Several hours before, during or after the event which takes place Sunday, August 24, 4-7 pm (set up starts in the morning).  Other jobs include: blowing up several hundred small balloons for the dart game, securing and arranging donated flower bouquets, taking tickets, guarding entrances, staffing the kids games, and pre-event coordination tasks). 

 Cooking Demos and Produce Tasting Events

  Cooking demos: Assist the demo coordinator with any needs at the market on a cooking demo day, such as buying supplies, help chef with food prep, help pass out samples.  Volunteer for this job needs to have good interaction skills with public.  Some food knowledge is also helpful. 

Produce Tastings:  Help with set-up, gathering produce, cutting and preparing for shopper sampling.  Volunteer for this job needs to have good interaction skills with public.  Some food knowledge is also helpful. 

Minimum time commitment: several hours on the day of the event. 

Days we need extra help are listed below.  There may be additional days as well throughout the season: 

U-District, June 14 (9 to noon), Aug 23 (9 to noon), Oct 11 (9 to noon)

West Seattle, July 6 (10 to noon), Sept 14 (10 to noon)

Columbia City, June 25 (3 to 7 pm), July 9 (3 to 5 pm), July 23 (3:30 to 5:30 pm), August 6 (3:30 to 5:30 pm), Aug 20 (3:30 - 5:30 pm), Sept 17 (3:30 to 5:30 pm), Oct 8 (3 to 5pm)

 Kids Events at the Markets 

This includes events such as the Zucchini Races, Pumpkin Decorating and other special events for kids.  Great fun for anyone who likes kids and farmers markets!  Help kids make Zucchini cars, veggie sculptures, etc.  We even do some kid-centered cooking demos!     Minimum time commitment: several hours on the day of the event.  Most of these events take place in the height of summer season (July, August and September).

 Magnolia Day Parade

Veggie Mama puppet at the Magnolia Day Parade: this isn't at the market, but it's an important part of our community outreach in the Magnolia neighborhood.  Each year, our Veggie Mama giant puppet walks in the Parade, and we need one or two people to help her set up and walk the parade.  Time commitment: 10 am to noon on Saturday, August 2 in the Magnolia Village.

 Miles to Market Display Table

As part of our educational efforts to shoppers and the public, we create a "Miles to Market" display at the markets on one or several days during the summer season.  This job can be done once at one market, or several times at multiple markets.  The display is made up of seasonal produce from the Farmers Market and identical products from a nearby grocery store, with information about the number of miles each item traveled to get to the market.  This is one way we demonstrate the benefits of buying and eating locally-grown produce.  This job entails shopping for the produce and setting up the display table so that it is clear and attractive to folks who come through the market.  Time commitment is several hours on a market day, which includes coordinating with market staff. This job is great for anyone who is interested in food and has a knack for putting together a good display!

 Sandwich Boards

In some neighborhoods we put out sandwich boards on street corners on market days.  Volunteers can “adopt” a sandwich board and be responsible for putting it out each week during the season (sometimes this means storing the board at your home during the week, or coordinating retrieval of the board from storage site each week).

Hand out newsletters at the markets

Help us get our newsletter out to shoppers on market day. 

 Office Projects

These include occasional projects such as stuffing envelopes, preparing mailings, data entry projects and other occasional projects that may come up.

Outreach and Publicity for market 

Contact churches, community groups, schools, etc. to arrange special presentations about the markets, or attend special events to promote the markets.  Excellent people and presentation skills needed.