HIRING FOR THE 2024 FARMERS MARKET SEASON! The first outdoor market of the season is on Tuesday, April 16 with the Northampton Farmers Market!
Located in the beautiful Berkshire foothills of Western Massachusetts, our farm milks 30-40 grass-fed cows throughout the year. Our mixed herd (primarily Jersey and Brown Swiss) is rotationally grazed on 200 acres of pasture during the summer, and fed local hay in the winter. We humanely raise pastured beef, rose veal, and whey-fed pork. The health and welfare of our animals, as well as of the land, are of primary importance to us.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Join our team of thoughtful, talented individuals who are dedicated to the production of good food on our evolving, mission-based dairy farm in Williamstown. Farmers’ markets are a key component of our business and to bringing our cheeses and meat to members of our local communities.
If you are passionate about supporting small businesses, local & sustainable food, and talking about delicious cheese, this will be an enjoyable role for you!
Good communication and organizational skills, ability to work well in the energetic outdoor environment of markets, and positive and pleasant customer service are critical for this role. An ideal candidate has experience in FOH or sales roles, is efficient, responsive, flexible, and calm under pressure. If you are a problem solver, a people-person, and enjoy working independently and on a small team, then this position might be right for you.
Staffing a market requires picking up products, tables, a pop-up tent, and other market materials from the farm; driving to the market and setting up; providing excellent customer service for the duration of the market; breaking down the market set up, reloading the vehicle and bringing materials and any inventory back to the farm. Back at the farm, you unload the vehicle, take cheese inventory, count your cash box and do market sales reporting paperwork.
REQUIREMENTS
-Ability to meet physical demands of the job — standing for long periods of time and working outdoors, bending, lifting and carrying up to 30-40 lbs (heaviest thing is a cooler full of cheese)
-Arriving on time to set up at each market; breaking down and reloading vehicle at designated time; ability to follow directions and guidelines of each Farmers’ Market manager.
-Interest in enthusiastically selling our products and positively representing the farm as the sole staff member at the market; comfortable proactively engaging customers in conversation
-A commitment to food safety and to following standards and protocols to ensure safety of our products during transportation and at the farmers market
-Operate a cashbox and Square POS and responsibly handle a variety of payment methods, including cash and credit/debit cards
-Ability to work independently, as you will be the sole farm employee working each farmers market
-Sound judgment
-Must have a valid Drivers’ License and your own reliable transportation to/from the farm. Staff will drive a farm vehicle to/from the farmers market. Ability to drive a standard is a plus!
-Weekend availability required
Preference is given to strong candidates who can work 2+ markets each week, but we expect to hire staff who will only work one market each week. If interested in other work to supplement, please inquire as there may be available work on the farm.
Outdoor Season Shifts (April/May through October/November)
Tuesdays 10am-9pm — Northampton (market open 1:30pm-6:30pm)
Saturdays 6:30am-3pm — Pittsfield (market open 9am-1pm)
Saturdays 6am-4pm — Troy (market open 9am-2pm)
Sundays 8am-4pm — Schenectady (market open 10am-2pm)
Depending on staff availability, we may also attend the West Stockbridge market. Shift would be Thursdays 1pm-8pm (market runs 3-6pm).
Indoor Season (December-March)
Alternating winter markets on Saturdays: Northampton, Great Barrington, Pittsfield, Troy and Schenectady
COMPENSATION
Wages paid hourly, starting at $15/hour. You also receive a 20% discount on our pasture raised beef, rose veal, and our whey-fed pork, as well as all products in our farm store. Staff also have complimentary access to a “seconds” section of the meat freezer, where meat with broken vacuum seals or freezer burn is stored, as well as access to ordering groceries at cost. These additional food benefits typically add up to savings equivalent to a $1-2/hr increase in pay.
HOW TO APPLY:
Please send your resume and a short cover letter describing your interest in this role and in working with Cricket Creek Farm to Anna at anna@cricketcreekfarm.com. Highlight any previous experience working farmers’ markets, retail, or sales, or in working with a small business.
We look forward to hearing from you!