Opportunity Details

18 Reasons shares our culinary skills and creativity with low-income communities
through Cooking Matters, a program offering free, 6-week-long series
of cooking and nutrition classes throughout the Bay Area. Each Cooking Matters class is taught by a Cooking Educator, Nutrition Educator, and Class Assistant working together in a team led by an 18 Reasons staff member. You don’t have to be a professional chef or nutritionist to volunteer with us – if you are passionate about healthy food and eager to share your skills and knowledge, we welcome you as a volunteer. This program is evidence-based and proven to help participants eat healthier, gain cooking skills and confidence, and spend more time cooking together with their families. It also reduces food insecurity among low-income families by 12% in just 6 weeks. Join us in changing people's lives through healthy, delicious cooking!

CLASS VOLUNTEER POSITION DESCRIPTIONS:

Cooking Educator

You are a cooking enthusiast! During class, you will lead highly participatory cooking lessons featuring simple, healthy recipes. You will demonstrate and practice basic cooking techniques and terminology, proper knife handling, and food safety and sanitation measures. You will work with the 18 Reasons staff coordinator and class participants to select recipes for class each week. The coordinator brings the food and cooking equipment.


Nutrition Educator

You do not have to be a professional nutritionist or dietitian to succeed in this role; you just need a love of healthy eating and an eagerness to help others. Some of our nutritionist volunteers do have a background in nutrition, food science, dietetics, or a related field, but it is not required. Class topics include using MyPlate as a tool for healthy eating, planning balanced meals, eating healthier fats, food budgeting, serving sizes, reading nutrition labels, and physical activity. The classes are intended to be interactive, and the nutrition educator facilitates open-minded conversation in class including using activities and visual aids that are provided by 18 Reasons.


Class Assistant

Class assistants primarily help instructors and facilitators with classroom set-up, food preparation, activities and clean up. Other duties may include packing groceries for participants to take home, unloading and loading kitchen equipment, and washing dishes. Many people volunteer as a class assistant for their first series.

TIME COMMITMENT:

Classes meet once a week for six weeks.
 Classes are held anytime between 9:00am and 8:00pm, Tuesday-Friday.
 Each week, the classes require a time commitment of two hours plus 30 minutes of prep time and up to 30 minutes of clean-up each week.
 In addition, communication with the Cooking Matters coordinator regarding class scheduling and the curriculum is expected. 
Volunteers are encouraged to contribute to all aspects of the class, including set-up, clean-up, and food preparation.

Opportunity Details

Northern Illinois Food Bank offers food sorting and packing volunteer opportunities at our North Suburban Center in Park City, IL for groups and individuals. Please sign up through their online portal before registering through Benevity so that the Food Bank will know to expect you. Their online registration system can accommodate registration of individuals or groups of up to 19 people at www.solvehungertoday.org/volunteer. Larger groups will need to contact a volunteer scheduler at 630-443-6910.

Opportunity Details

Volunteers help us assemble food packages that go to over 27,000 low income seniors in Los Angeles County that live on a fixed income. The food packages consist of food items like canned fruit, canned vegetables, rice, cereal, and other non-perishable food items.

IMPORTANT THINGS FOR EACH VOLUNTEER TO KNOW

Please contact Ana Martinez, Volunteer Director, to register for this opportunity at amartinez@lafoodbank.org
Please arrive 15-20 minutes early to check-in
All volunteers must wear closed toed shoes
Minimum age requirement to volunteer is 14 (sorry, no exceptions)

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
Help us build food packages for our neighbors in need!	40	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

Our dedicated Volunteers enable us to serve over 82,000 of our neighbors each year. You help us to provide food to those who are hungry: children, working families, seniors, individuals, the disabled, homeless, veterans, and unemployed.

The Saturday Volunteer shifts are a large volunteer opportunity with the potential for up to 200 volunteers on site that day. Some of the activities you may help with include gleaning/sorting donated food, bag fresh produce and box non-perishable bulk food items. Whatever the project, our Volunteers make a tremendous impact on our community by generously sharing a few hours of your time with us.

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
Warehouse Volunteering Shift	25	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

The Backpack Run is a professionally timed 5k/10k fundraiser for The Backpack
Program at Indian River CSD. In the past four years this event has raised over $14,000 to support The Backpack Program. Every week of the school year The Backpack Program sends a backpack full of food home with a student in need- not only does this support the nutritional needs of local families but this effort makes a huge difference in a child’s ability to focus, learn, and develop. Kohl’s team members looking to give back to the community by joining us as volunteers at this event not only ensures a smooth and organized 5k/10k but also helps provide a positive atmosphere and creates a high quality event for this fundraiser. We really enjoyed having Kohl's with us the past two years at the Backpack Run helping with t-shirts and post race food- we would love to have you with us again this year! This event will take place rain or shine so please come prepared to be comfortable. Feel free to stick around after the event to enjoy the Theresa Fall Festival!

Thank you for your consideration and we hope to see you on Saturday September 21st in Theresa! Please let me know of any questions or concerns at 315-439-4938 or liacall@ircsd.org

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
T-shirts and food table	no limit	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

Northern Illinois Food Bank is piloting an online food pantry called My Pantry Express in Lake County. If you have an interest in direct service to those experiencing food insecurity, sign up to help distribute grocery orders to our neighbors in Lake County. Please reserve your place through the Food Bank system BEFORE registering through Benevity. The Food Bank needs your reservation information so we can share more information about your shift via e-mail and communicate should there be any changes.

We are excited to be offering this new shopping experience to our neighbors, please review the information below to best prepare you for the day!

Before you come, please watch this short tutorial so you will be prepared to serve upon arrival and will have some context for the program and our goals in offering it. https://drive.google.com/open?id=13pCpZpezwspagGm7Bh6YZdG2ZtqGpKB9

Please check in with a Food Bank representative by 4:00PM on your reserved date. The van/truck will arrive by 4:00PM, so so we have ample time to set up for the distribution to customers to begin at 4:30PM If you have any issues, feel free to call/text the My Pantry Express Manager at 1.312.709.8810.

Location: Forrestal Elementary School, 2833 Washington Avenue, Great Lakes, IL 60088

Parking: there should be parking available in the parking. Please park a little further, so our customers can park more conveniently to the pickup location. This event is OUTSIDE; dress appropriately.

How YOU will be helping at distribution:

Please remember, many of the folks who are picking up may be accessing services like this for the first time and we want to make this as much of a normal and pleasant experience for them to know we are here to help them. People may arrive earlier the start of the distribution time, but please DO NOT begin handing out orders until we are all set up and ready to go!
This site will be a "drive-through" model, so families will be driving up to the designated pick-up area and are NOT expected to leave their cars. There may be people on foot who will just walk up, as well. As customers approach, we ask that you only ask them for their order # or their name, whichever one they are comfortable providing,

NO DOCUMENTATION IS REQUIRED OR NEEDED FOR THEM TO PICK UP ORDERS (such as photo ID or a utility bill).

Once we locate all the bags for their orders, we will have them initial our order pick-up sheet and help them load groceries into their vehicles. Please ask where they would like you to do that (trunk, back seat, etc).

REMINDERS:

Please dress comfortably and suitable for the weather and be prepared to assist with lifting and/or carrying 30-40 lbs.
Please remember to greet customers with a welcoming attitude! They may be nervous about coming to pick-up in the first place. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know and contact the My Pantry Express Manager at 312.709.8810.

Thank you again for volunteering your time and attention to our new program and don't forget to bring your best smile and good nature!

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
My Pantry Express	5	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

Much of the donated food Northern Illinois Food Bank distributes needs to be inspected, sorted and packaged before it’s distributed to our hungry neighbors. We simply could not do this without the help of volunteers. Last year, volunteers donated more than 136,000 hours of their time, the equivalent of 65 full-time employees.

Whether you can volunteer once a week, once a month or once a year; individually or with a group of friends, family or colleagues, whatever your commitment, every hour of assistance helps us ensure our hungry neighbors will have access to food in their time of need.

Groups of 20 or more volunteers must call the Food Bank to register at (630) 443-6910. Groups and families of less than 20 people may register online up to one week prior to a shift. Individuals may register up to 48 hours prior to a shift. View our online registration calendar with available shift days, times, and openings and sign up today and sign up with Northern Illinois Food Bank before you register through this benevity portal so that the Food Bank will know when to expect you. You can view the volunteer calendar at https://solvehungertoday.civicore.com/NIFB/index.php?section=volOpportunities&action=calendar - sort by location and choose North Suburban Center, which is the center nearest Abbott's Lake County offices.

Currently, the North Suburban Center offers volunteer shifts at these times:

North Suburban Center
440 Keller Drive / Park City, IL 60085
Volunteer Shifts
Weekdays: Tuesdays at 1:00pm – 3:30pm

Thursdays at 9:00am – 11:30am

Weeknights: Wednesdays at 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM

Weekends: Saturdays at 9:00am – 11:30am

Opportunity Details

Team will work together to sort, repack and assemble food product to be distributed to over 900,000 people in NJ. This will reach far and wide to feed your hungry neighbors throughout the state. Join the fun and accomplish so much!

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
Provide Food, Help and Hope	20	n/a	n/a
Repack to Give Back	20	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

MANNA distributes 50,000 pounds of food everyday to serve the more than 110,000 people in WNC's 16 counties facing food insecurity. This is achieved through the hard work of nearly 100 volunteers in MANNA's warehouse everyday. Volunteer projects change daily in the warehouse based on priority and need. Projects could include, but are not limited to: sorting and packing food donations, packing housewares and hygiene products, culling and bagging produce, or packing MANNA Packs.

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
Kohls-Cause	no limit	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

UPDATE: we've nailed down the dates for Pick-a-Pear-a-thon and will be harvesting twice a day from Omega Farm 8/25-8/31, and from Foley Community Orchard 9/2-9/8.

Details and RSVP for either week (or both!) here:
Omega: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pick-a-pear-a-thon-omega-farm-tickets-69588831067
Foley: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pick-a-pear-a-thon-foley-community-orchard-tickets-69589188135

Pick-a-Pear-a-thon is Urban Abundance's biggest harvest event and fundraiser of the year. With two orchards that have about 500 Bartlett pear trees between them that all ripen at the same time, we will be working night and day to harvest as much fruit as possible over two weeks to donate to Clark County Food Bank, and we need all the man-power we can get!

Last year, with the help of our volunteers, we donated 9,000 pounds of fresh fruit to the food bank in these two weeks! All volunteers get to take Bartlett pears home with them after the event, and it's a great way to spend a day out in nature in a beautiful pear orchard.

These harvest events are free, family friendly, and a great opportunity for companies looking to do a community-service day with their employees. Come one come all!

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
General	no limit	n/a	n/a