ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW: Food Forward fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people experiencing food insecurity, and inspiring others to do the same. Fruits and vegetables are collected in Los Angeles and Ventura counties from backyard fruit trees, orchards, farmers markets, and the downtown Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market. This recovered produce is provided, free of charge, to hunger relief organizations that serve community members in various ways: food banks, homeless outreach agencies, domestic violence shelters, transitional youth homes, veteran services, family resource centers, LGBTQ+ teen/adult/senior services, college student assistance programs, programs serving people with disabilities, and many more. Since Food Forward’s inception, our staff and thousands of dedicated volunteers have rescued 100’s of millions of pounds of fruits and vegetables. This produce helped to feed millions of people across eleven Southern California counties, throughout seven states, as well as in tribal lands in the Southwest annually. See our core values posted below. 

POSITION OVERVIEW:  Food Forward seeks a detail-oriented warehouse worker to join our wholesale recovery team.  The WRP Warehouse Worker will report to the WRP Warehouse Supervisor and must have some produce handling and warehousing experience. The ideal candidate must be able to work in the early hours and with flexible schedules. They will work closely and effectively with team members and can communicate clearly and concisely in a fast-paced, high-pressure work environment.

The Warehouse Worker will primarily load/unload, sort, and help Food Forward distribute millions of pounds of fresh produce. The Warehouse Workers will rely heavily on material handling equipment to complete their tasks. The individual's success will ensure that Food Forward continues to provide fresh and healthy produce to the community. 

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Loading and Unloading incoming and outgoing inventory
• Enter and reconcile order information in Fusionware (produce management database)
• Assist in implementing warehouse safety and security protocols to comply with local, state, and federal regulations.
• Conduct physical counts of produce, reconcile, and enter in our data base.
• Maintain a welcoming environment for all Food Forward stakeholders, training and supervising warehouse volunteers in coordination with Food Forward’s Outreach Department.
• Ensure all safety procedures are being followed by all persons entering the facility.  This includes Food Forward staff, guests, receiving agencies, and volunteers. 
• Other related assignments as necessary

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• 2 - 5 years of produce warehousing, shipping and receiving experience, and inventory control and management
• 2 – 5 years of produce handling experience (ability to decipher quality & perishability)
• 2 – 5 years of experience with forklifts, electric/manual pallet jacks, etc.
•  Conversational Spanish and English are required.
   

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Physical ability to frequently lift and carry materials weighing 25 – 70 pounds
• Ability to sit, stand, walk, climb stairs and ladders, bend, lift, twist, kneel, crouch, crawl, pull, push, carry, grasp, reach and stoop as needed
• Ability to work both indoors and outdoors.
• Ability to work in a refrigerated environment. (temperatures as low as 32°F)