BULLETIN BOARD

Lynchburg, VA – Wood-Fired Bakery and Marketing Assistant

Great Day Gardens is a family-owned market garden and wood-fired bakery serving the Lynchburg, VA area.

We are hiring a part-time Bakery and Marketing Assistant to begin in March 2023. We may be able to accommodate a full-time position for the right candidate. Please read on for full job description or go to https://greatdaygardens.com/were-hiring-for-2023/ and email applications to Michael@greatdaygardens.com

Full Details

Great Day Gardens is a market garden and wood-fired bakery in Forest, Virginia owned and managed by wife and husband Arden Jones and Michael Grantz. We are committed to providing nutrient-dense food to the Lynchburg area while engaging our community in a more regenerative and equitable food system. 2023 is our 9th year in business, supplying vegetables, sourdough bread, grain products, live plants, cut flowers, and herbs to two weekly farmers markets, a 50-member CSA, an active online store and a handful of wholesale accounts.

A Farm-Based Cottage Bakery

We mix and make everything by hand in a converted garage and bake outdoors in a direct-fired “black” masonry oven designed for small commercial-scale bread production. We bake once a week, with most bakery tasks happening Wednesday-Friday. We source our flour exclusively from Deep Roots Milling in Roseland, VA, who use a water-powered stone mill and regionally-grown grain. And buy almost all other ingredients from small producers in the mid-Atlantic.

This style of baking is demanding physical work and includes kneading 25-pound batches of dough by hand, hauling and loading firewood, and using an 8-foot wooden peel to load and unload bread. However, this work brings us closer in connection to the process and we believe helps us make better bread!

Bakery and Marketing Assistant

We are looking for a Bakery and Marketing Assistant who shares our passion for artisan baking, nutrient-dense food, and regenerative local agriculture! You will work mostly independently and with Michael in all aspects of production, as we bake a rotating selection of weekly breads.

This position also includes working with our team to staff our weekly stall at the Lynchburg Community Market in downtown Lynchburg, VA.

This is a part-time position ideal for someone who wants an introductory training in:

  • Maintaining a vigorous sourdough starter.
  • Baking with whole-milled grains.
  • Managing heat in a wood-fired oven.
  • Direct marketing for small-scale farms.

Duties:

  • Scaling, mixing, kneading, shaping and baking bread using artisan hand techniques. Feeding and maintaining the sourdough starter.
  • Washing dishes, sweeping and mopping the floor, other cleaning tasks as needed, organizing bakery space, maintaining a clean, healthy workspace.
  • Baking and packaging breads and pastries.
  • Firing the oven, splitting and hauling wood, raking coals out of the oven.
  • Maintain a positive, cooperative attitude and strive to work with the team to improve processes and troubleshoot problems.
  • Staff the Lynchburg Community Market nearly every Saturday morning April-October.
  • Market activities include providing customer service, working the checkout, answering questions, assembling and maintaining stall display, and making flower bouquets.
  • Assist with any grain farming tasks (limited seasonally).
  • Occasional tasks as needed, including other farm work, driving to pick up ingredients, making deliveries, etc.

Qualifications:

  • Some baking/culinary experience is preferred but not required. The most important thing is that you work competently and stay engaged with learning the craft!
  • Passion for building food systems based on ecology and social equity.
  • Ability to lift 50 pounds and work up to 10 hours on your feet, occasionally outdoors in adverse weather.
  • Willingness to receive training in new techniques, follow detailed instructions, ask relevant questions.
  • Organization skills and ability to maintain a clean and healthy workspace.
  • Confidence to perform all tasks independently after training.

Hourly wage: $13/hr+ DOE.

A Flexible Schedule

20-30 hours per week, Wednesday-Saturday. We are flexible to work a schedule out with your needs, but the Assistant must be available on Thursday afternoon, Friday afternoons, and Saturday mornings.

Position begins in early March and requires a commitment through December 22, 2023. Continuation into 2024 and progression to a full-time position is possible, depending on the performance and needs of the Assistant.

To Apply: Send your resume, contact info and a brief letter about your interest in the position to Michael@Greatdaygardens.com