Every summer, LEAF seeks motivated and talented youth leaders to hire for our summer job. LEAF cultivates youth leaders from diverse backgrounds through meaningful work in the food system.

This job combines meaningful work alongside farmers and chefs, leadership development, and engaging workshops to create a dynamic summer job. The LEAF summer work is an opportunity to:

• work alongside peers from counties like Cumberland, Dauphin, Perry, Adams, and York

• explore and identify what your unique talents are 

• focus on an area of interest - agriculture, culinary, and public outreach

• develop your skills as a peer leader

Youth will plant, grow, & harvest vegetables for area restaurants and hunger relief donations, develop culinary skills and explore leadership and food systems topics.

The Youth Summer Employment runs for seven weeks from mid-June to early August (June 22 - August 7, 2026). During the summer season, youth workers will generally work Monday through Thursday from 9 am to 3:30 pm. Each day is divided between meaningful work and interactive workshop sessions. Youth Crew employees will earn $10/hour.

Requirements to be considered:

• Be 14-18 years old

• Live in Cumberland, Dauphin, Perry, Adams, or York County 

• Be able to commit to the seven weeks of the summer season

• Complete online application and partake in an interview

• Be physically able to do agricultural work and handle challenging weather conditions (heat and rain, for example)

• Be able to participate and engage in workshops taught in English

• Be eligible to work in the U.S.

Youth Crew Employment Expectations:

• Work Monday through Thursday for 7 weeks

• Be able to provide your own transportation to pick up/drop off location in Carlisle, PA, Camp Hill, PA, or the farm

• Have a motivated, positive attitude during various kinds of work - farm work, culinary, community outreach, program planning, leadership development, etc.

Every week, you will spend time growing vegetables, understanding the food system, learning cooking skills, and developing leadership skills. Each day, we will check in as a group, have a morning work session, engage with each other at lunch, participate in an afternoon workshop, and work alongside each other for an afternoon work session. Every day at LEAF is a little bit different and you will be consistently learning and building new skills, learning more about yourself and your peers, and learning about the food system. Check out the summer videos below to get a feel for what your summer could look like!

The Youth Summer Program runs for 7 weeks each summer. This year is from June 22nd - August 7th 2026.

During the summer, youth typically will work 24-28 hours per week, Monday-Thursday, 9:00-3:30 pm. Schedules will be adjusted accordingly depending on our situation. 

During our normal summer program, youth are paid $10/hr, receiving paychecks every other week. After you successfully complete the summer program, you will be eligible to apply to higher-paying leadership positions in the fall/winter/spring/summer of the following seasons.

You are eligible if you are between the ages of 14 and 18, live in South Central PA, and are interested in working hard and having fun!

LEAF is going to be both hard work and fun. The crew will laugh together, build friendships, and accomplish a lot both in developing themselves and working within the food system.

Entry-level youth will be selected from throughout South Central, PA from a variety of different backgrounds. You might know some of the people and will also meet new people. We also have some leadership youth who are returning to the program after successfully completing at least one summer season with LEAF.

Our application is available now! Follow this link to apply: https://forms.gle/3RpXFwjVHgSr5g6m7

Applications will close on April 7th, followed by interviews on April 11th, and decisions in May.

Please contact the LEAF Program Team with more questions at hiring@leafprojectpa.org.