Angelic Organics Pack Volunteer Program

Would you like to help us pack our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes?

We are a hardworking farm providing organic vegetables and herbs for over 2000 families, feeding over 5000 people weekly from our fields. There is tremendous satisfaction in being part of this effort, knowing that you are providing healthy, organic, local food for many, while being around the wondrous workings of a farm and its dedicated community of workers and shareholders.

Where is Angelic Organics?

1547 Rockton Road, Caledonia, IL 61011.

Commitment

Work a 3.5-hour pack shift on Monday and/or Thursday afternoons during our delivery season, from mid-June through November.

Short Term Commitment — 3 Packs or Less

Many people ask to volunteer at our farm for less than a day, just to get a glimpse of life at Angelic Organics. If you want to help us with only a pack or two or three during the whole season, please fill out the complete attached application. You will find a question there that accommodates those who want to help pack, but only for three packs or less.

The Work

Place one or two vegetables or herbs into the boxes as they come down the conveyor line based on the preferences of each shareholder noted on the box labels. Some bending and reaching is required. Sometimes we ask our pack volunteers to do final preparations of the vegetables such as bagging, grading, and sorting, or perhaps counting and grading boxes, prior to the beginning of the pack, and sometimes we also ask the volunteers to help with cleanup after the pack.

The Exchange

In exchange for your help, you will pack your own 3/4 bushel box of ultra-fresh, very local vegetables for each pack with which you help. You could be cooking with those vegetables that very night!

The Hours: 12:45 p.m to 4:15 p.m

12:45 p.m – 1 p.m – Orientation and packing instructions for each packer

1 p.m – The pack begins

Occasionally, because of harvest or weather conditions, the pack might go a bit later than 4:15. Although we do not anticipate often going past 4:15, be prepared to pack a bit later than 4:15 on any pack day.

Your Help Makes a Big Difference

A tremendous amount of work is required to tend and harvest the crops and prepare them for delivery. When you help us on a pack day, it frees up a valuable field worker to continue to work in the fields.

Be on Time

Everyone needs to be present on the pack line for the pack to start on time. If you are late, everyone else might be standing on the pack line waiting for you, and the pack will start late.

If You Cannot Pack on Your Scheduled Day

If you are unable to pack on your scheduled day, contact our pack volunteer coordinator at least one day in advance. We will give you this contact information once you are selected as a pack volunteer.

The Weather

The pack line is in our open, shaded pack barn. Temperatures can fluctuate from 100 degrees in August to below freezing in November, so dressing appropriately is important.

What to Bring

  • Water bottle
  • Weather-appropriate clothes
  • Closed toe shoes

Additional Information

  • You need to be at least 14 to help with our pack
  • Please do not bring children to wander the farm without supervision
  • Smoking/tobacco use is not allowed while working
  • Open toe shoes are not allowed as we have heavy machinery throughout the farm

The Satisfaction

While the work is somewhat physically demanding, it also represents the culmination of all our growing efforts as we prepare the vegetables for their journey to our shareholders’ homes.

Video of an Angelic Organics Pack from 2014

Click here to watch a video of our pack from 2014.

Ready to Apply?

Before applying to our pack volunteer program, we recommend that you explore our website to learn more about our farm. You also might like to watch the feature documentary about our farm, The Real Dirt on Farmer John.

To apply for our pack volunteer program, fill out this 10-minute application.

If selected to participate in the program, we will contact you to let you know the date we would like you to start.