Food for People Volunteer Opportunities

To volunteer, please contact Caitlin Collings, Volunteer Coordinator.

Senior Brown Bag Volunteers:
Large bags of groceries are distributed 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 Tuesday  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, compiling statistics, etc. 

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 and 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: Groceries are delivered monthly 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 the food. 

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

Community Garden / Food Bank Garden: Food for People provides garden plots to landless residents wishing to grow their own produce. In addition, the food bank cultivates a demonstration garden on site to promote home food production and to supply produce for food bank clients. Volunteers are needed at both of these garden sites for general maintenance and beautification efforts. 

Children’s Summer Lunch Site Supervisor: Sack lunches are distributed to eligible children at established community sites throughout the county on summer weekdays. Supervisors are needed at all sites, mid-June through mid-August. Training is provided. 

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

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, washing vans, etc.