Volunteer – Second Helping

Volunteer

Volunteer

Volunteer

You hold a key to our success

Your assistance is critical in helping us serve our neighbors! Hunger and food insecurity remain problematic for far too many people across our country, realities that are exacerbated by current economic conditions including elevated levels of food inflation.

Many of the people whom we serve find it difficult to achieve financial stability, and they become reliant on food donations from non-profits like ours to source nutritious and healthy food.

That’s why the time you spend volunteering with us is of great impact to our neighbors in need.

Volunteer 4

Volunteer 3

Volunteer 2

Volunteer 1

20240827_094309

Volunteer 5

Volunteer as an Individual

We greatly appreciate individual volunteers who are kind enough to share their valuable time with us and help us serve our mutual neighbors in need. A typical volunteer session lasts between two (2) and three (3) hours and can be fast-paced. We typically serve hundreds of households during our distribution events, and volunteers should generally exhibit good mobility. We enjoy working with walk-up volunteers who have not previously scheduled their volunteer sessions with us, but we kindly ask you to contact us ahead of time so that we can schedule the appropriate total level of volunteers and coverage.

Please contact us to volunteer as an individual.

Volunteer as a Small Group

We encourage small groups of people who are interested in volunteering with us to lend their helping hands to our neighbors in need. We are often blessed to have small groups of friends or colleagues dedicate their valuable time by attending our distribution events together. We enjoy working with walk-up small groups of volunteers, but we kindly ask you to contact us before our distribution event begins so that we can schedule the appropriate total level of volunteers in addition to your small group.

Please contact us to volunteer as a small group.

Volunteer as a Company or Organization

We are fortunate to sometimes work with companies, businesses, or other types of organizations that are kind enough to let their employees or members volunteer their time with us. These types of non-company organizations may include but not be limited to churches, civic organizations, fraternal organizations, township offices, and others. Some companies or organizations require or strongly encourage their employees or members to give back to their communities, and volunteering at one of our events is an excellent way to do so. We kindly ask your company or organizations to contact us to discuss your possible service at an upcoming or future event.

Please contact us us to volunteer as a company or organization.

Documenting Your Service

We can provide official documentation of hours volunteered for law enforcement, academic, and other reporting requirements. We ask that you notify us of your documentation request prior to the day of your volunteer service so that we can accurately report your volunteerism. We also provide recurring volunteer opportunities for those volunteers seeking a longer volunteer commitment.

Please contact us to discuss your service documentation needs and requirements.

Volunteer Guidelines

• The minimum age to volunteer depends on the type of activities being performed. Please check with us for specific requirements.

• Some volunteers desire to bring their minor-aged children to distribution events. Please check with us for specific requirements, behavioral guidelines, and more. Distribution events are typically busy environments with heavy boxes and thousands of pounds being distributed, and the safety of all volunteers and attendees is of paramount importance.

• All volunteers should wear close-toed shoes because they will likely be in contact with food.

• We encourage our volunteers to wash their hands with warm water and soap before starting and must wash their hands thoroughly when returning from a bathroom break.

• We provide gloves for our volunteers to handle unwrapped food such as fresh produce. We typically distribute several thousand pounds of fresh vegetables and fruits at each of our distributions, and gloves should always be worn when handling fresh produce that is loose and unbagged or unwrapped.

• Volunteers should be able to stand on their feet for 2 – 3 hours at our distribution events and should be able to lift 30 – 40 pounds.

• Some distribution events take place outside. Volunteers should wear appropriately warm clothing including clean sweatshirts, coats, jackets, hats, gloves, etc., especially during the winter or colder weather months. Volunteers’ clothing may come into contact with dirty boxes, containers, pallets, equipment, and more, so we encourage volunteers to dress appropriately with clean clothing.

• We encourage volunteers to bring their own non-alcoholic drinks to remain appropriately hydrated during distribution events, especially during warmer weather months.

• Volunteers may be requested to leave any volunteering event at any time by a supervisor.

• Volunteers may not eat the food that we donate to our neighbors during our distribution events without the permission of a supervisor.

• Volunteers are permitted to receive food as a donation should they require food assistance, but they must follow the same guidelines and procedures as the neighbors whom we are serving. We discourage volunteers from placing food in their vehicles before all other neighbors have been served.

• Should you cut yourself or become injured during your volunteer service, please notify a supervisor immediately, discontinue your volunteer efforts, and treat the injury appropriately. If you require medical treatment or assistance, please notify a supervisor immediately.

• It is a privilege to serve our neighbors in need. As such, your actions and language are not only reflective of yourself as an individual, but they should also exemplify the appropriately high standards of charity, character, and professionalism that we embody as an organization. Inappropriate actions and language towards our neighbors whom we are serving or other volunteers will not be tolerated or condoned.

Please contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns about volunteering..