Running Group Trips 

Boston Area Gleaners runs private volunteer outings throughout the season for corporate teams, schools, faith-based organizations, and other community groups. Planning for these trips is very ‘hands-on’—while the Leadership and Operations teams typically manage the public gleaning schedule, the Outreach Coordinator is largely in charge of organizing private group outings. These trips can have rosters upwards of 30 people, many of which are engaging with the organization for the very first time.

A previous model that BAG had used was to have associated scheduling fees for these events and, for larger corporate groups, a required corporate contribution (scaled to the group size). Larger contributions might warrant BAG t-shirts for the group as well as lunch, if the group had interest in that. This model was still being developed in the 2019 season, but was largely a success and a great source of support from corporate groups.

BAG’s 2020 group trips plan (necessary during the era of COVID) is a more scaled-back version of the previous model—hosting community groups only, in small sizes, with a few predesignated time slots available each week. The aim is to relaunch corporate outings and larger group trips when public health precautions and capacity allow.

INITIAL COMMUNICATIONS

Interested community groups will often reach out directly to the Outreach Coordinator by phone or email. In the past, the first step would be to direct these groups to a Service Workday Application on the Boston Area Gleaners’ Website. The application is no longer live, due to current low capacity for private groups, but in previous years the app was a very helpful way to streamline the process and screen groups—and it would be worth re-implementing when there is room for more requests.

Whatever the format, it is important at the outset to check in with the Operations team regarding group requests and the team’s current capacity before proceeding. Notes on successes and challenges with previous year groups are archived and should be referenced whenever a group is being considered.

Given the go-ahead, the Outreach Coordinator should then contact the group to gather some basic details. Contacting by phone is recommended, because the scheduling process is a bit involved to explain. Information to gather from the group (if not already given in an application) includes: Group name, contact person (with phone and email address), age range of group, group size, and 3 preferred dates/time slots for the trip. On the last point—groups can choose a morning (9-12) or an afternoon (1-4) time slot. Depending on the outlook for the season (how much capacity the team expects to have for hosting groups), BAG may predesignate a select few weekly time slot options in advance. In 2020, for example, groups were given the option of scheduling on a Friday morning, Friday afternoon, Saturday morning, or Saturday afternoon.

During this initial correspondence it is also important to give a brief overview to Boston Area Gleaners, the nature of BAG volunteer projects, and the scheduling process. Some may not in initially realize, for example, that BAG does not have a farm of its own but rather partners with 80+ farms across eastern MA.

The scheduling logistics are a key piece to explain upfront—because BAG’s model requires extreme flexibility from groups. Gleaning is necessarily a flexible and responsive activity, so folks need to be able to respond to wherever and whatever the opportunities in the food landscape are! The exact day and time of a trip, based on what is available from the groups’ preferences, can be reserved (after consulting with the team), but the location and crop may not be able to be confirmed until the week of the trip. The group might be scheduled at any one of BAG’s partner farms, depending on farmers’ short-term needs and volume, or may end up processing & packing gleaned produce at the BAG Headquarters in Waltham. Groups can state their general location and project preferences, but again, crop availability, weather, and staff capacity also influence the process. The group will be provided with an online sign-up form for the trip as soon as a date is confirmed, and once a crop and location are identified, all those on the roster will be updated with the full trip details.

Finally, the group should know that because projects do need many hands, if the roster does not fill significantly in the days before the trip, BAG may open up the trip to the public, so that other volunteers can sign on and ensure the glean is successful.