Want to Make a Difference in Our Community? 

Volunteer with Food for People!

It takes a throng of volunteers at Food for People to help make our food assistance programs and community services successful. In fact, in 2007 local volunteers put in 17,228 hours sorting and distributing food, harvesting produce, interviewing recipients, assisting with clerical tasks and much, much more.  17,228—that’s a lot of hours. At Food for People, the time volunteers give us is golden. Without a doubt volunteers are essential in helping us make sure Humboldt County community members in need have enough to eat. 

At Food for People, we’re working to eliminate hunger and improve the health and well-being of our community through access to healthy and nutritious foods, community education and advocacy.  If you would like to help us accomplish this mission, please give us a call.  Our volunteer coordinator, Melody Uoo, would love to hear from you, and she would be happy to match your skills and talents with our volunteer needs. 

You can reach Melody at 442-3166 ex. 310.

And here are just a few ways that you can help:  

Senior Brown Bag Volunteers:
We distribute large bags of groceries to low income seniors once a month in several communities. Volunteers are needed to load and unload the van, assemble and distribute bags, and assist with the delivery of prepared bags to home bound seniors. 

Food Bank Workers:
We rely heavily on volunteers to assist with the weekly preparation of food boxes for clients at the food bank. Our regular distribution days are Wednesday and Friday. Tasks include sorting donated baked goods and produce, conducting client interviews, assembling and distributing food boxes, assisting with general maintenance and reception duties and compiling statistics. 

Drivers:
People with small trucks, vans or station wagons are needed for a variety of local pickups and deliveries. This can include picking up donated food from local supermarkets and bakeries as well as donations of produce from area farms. The schedule varies depending on the site (daily, weekly, monthly, on call), but we’ll do our best to find something that works with your schedule.

Homebound Delivery Program:
Each month we deliver groceries to individuals under the age of 60 who are homebound due to short or long term illness or disability. Volunteers are needed in a variety of communities to deliver food. 

Gleaners:
Local farms are a wonderful source of donated produce for the Food Bank. And volunteers are needed to help pick produce such as apples, kale, squash, tomatoes, beans etc. The greatest need for help is in the late spring and summer months. 

Children’s Summer Lunch Site Supervisor:
We distribute sack lunches to eligible children at established community sites throughout Humboldt County on summer weekdays. Supervisors are needed at all sites, mid-June through mid-August. Training is provided. 

Group activities: Some tasks occur on a less regular basis and require larger groups of volunteers. These activities provide a great opportunity for your church, civic group or youth group to lend a hand and work as a team:

Food Drives:
Donated food must be sorted and boxed when it is returned to the Food Bank. This     usually takes several hours on the day of the food drive. Large food drives generally occur in December and May, although businesses and other groups often stage their own food drives around events or other promotions.

Bulk Mailing:
Food for People Staff prepares all of our own newsletters, program flyers and direct mail materials “in-house”. Volunteers are needed to help us collate and label everything and prepare it for mailing. It’s repetitive but easy “sit down” work.

Cleaning Days:
The Food Bank distributes over 1.6 million pounds of food per year, and keeping the facility and our equipment clean is an ongoing task. Tasks include power washing crates, painting tables and shelves, scrubbing kitchen cabinets, sweeping and scrubbing floors in the warehouse and walk-in cooler, sweeping the parking lot and washing vans.