It takes a community of volunteers at Food for People to help make our food assistance programs and community services successful. In fact, in 2010, local volunteers put in 29,284 hours sorting and distributing food, harvesting produce, interviewing recipients, assisting with clerical tasks and much, much more, 29,284—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, Laura Hughes, would love to hear from you, and she would be happy to match your skills and talents with our volunteer needs.
You can click on her name to reach Laura by email or call her at (707) 445-3166 at extension 310.
Volunteer Orientation is every Monday at 12:30 PM
Here are just a few ways that you can help:
Senior Brown Bag Volunteers
Once a month, in several communities through out Humboldt County, volunteers help us deliver a bag of food and produce to low income seniors. 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
Choice Pantry/Food Bank Volunteers We rely heavily on volunteers to help us with the weekly preparations for our Choice Pantry distribution. An average of 1100 households (approximately 3000 individuals) each month access this program. The Choice Pantry style of food distribution allows people to shop through our pantry and select the foods they want and need, so none goes to waste. Shopping is based on a nutritional point system to ensure that folks get a balance of foods across the entire food pyramids. Volunteers are needed for: Shopper assistance, intake interviewing, check out, stocking and carry-out. Warehouse volunteers jobs include: sorting donated food and produce, helping to put the After school and Backpack program orders together and general help around the warehouse
Office or Front Desk
Assist Staff file paperwork, make reminder phone calls, help make copies and put packets together or fold brochures, and write thank you cards. Help at the front desk answering phone calls, answer questions, schedule distribution appointments and file paperwork.
Homebound Delivery Program
Each month we deliver food bags and produce 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 through out Humboldt County 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.
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.
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.
