Volunteer
Volunteer to Join the Fight Against Hunger
Every hour of volunteer work generates exponential meals for your neighbors in need. When you give your time, you’re directly improving the lives of your neighbors. From sorting non-perishable goods in our warehouse to providing groceries at our mobile pantries, every volunteer opportunity makes a direct impact on the well-being of our community.
Sorting Shifts
We need volunteers to help us maintain high-quality standards for all food that is distributed from our facility to the community. As a volunteer in our warehouse, you will sort and inspect donated food or help pack meal kits for our neighbors in need. These opportunities are available to those 16 years of age and older.
Mobile Pantry Shifts
Join our Mobile Pantry volunteers to make a direct impact in communities across Jacksonville by helping prepare, bag, and distribute fresh food at rotating outdoor distribution sites. These events operate like a farmers market, with food displayed on tables where local families facing hunger can select what they need, and volunteers assist with carrying items to cars. Since all distributions are held outdoors at various locations throughout the city, volunteers should dress appropriately for weather conditions and be prepared for an active, hands-on experience serving their neighbors.
Our Volunteer Captain Program offers experienced volunteers the opportunity to take on enhanced leadership roles with specialized training, advanced project responsibilities, and direct collaboration with our staff team. Captain-level volunteers gain access to exclusive equipment training and lead complex, high-impact initiatives that go beyond our standard volunteer opportunities. As a Volunteer Captain, you’ll enjoy the prestige and flexibility of building your own schedule independently, bypassing traditional registration requirements while taking ownership of meaningful projects that make a lasting difference.
Our SNAP Enrollment volunteers receive specialized training to help community members navigate the application process for essential food benefits through one-on-one assistance. After completing the required training, volunteers set up recurring appointments at local community centers where they guide individuals through SNAP applications and support them during their interviews. This meaningful program offers scheduling flexibility while providing direct, personalized help to families working to access the nutrition assistance they need.
Sorting Shifts
We need volunteers to help us maintain high-quality standards for all food that is distributed from our facility to the community. As a volunteer in our warehouse, you will sort and inspect donated food or help pack meal kits for our neighbors in need. These opportunities are available to those 16 years of age and older.
Frequently Asked Questions
I want to volunteer! How do I sign up to do that?
I want to volunteer with family, friends, or coworkers. How do I get us all signed up together to help?
We love volunteer groups large and small!
If you’re volunteering and want to bring along more than just yourself – just click on the “RESPOND AS TEAM” button on the opportunity page and register as a team. You can reserve slots on a shift for your team members, even if they don’t have their own email addresses or you don’t know who they are yet.
It’s important that we know how many people will be arriving for shifts so we can have accurate numbers for safety and project planning. If you’d like to volunteer with a friend or a family member, please register individually and take separate slots in the shifts or sign up as a team. Please don’t write in the notes section that you’re bringing along a buddy or relative as we don’t always see that info immediately – especially for last-minute registrations.
Can I just show up? Why not?
In order to create a safe and enjoyable volunteer experience, every volunteer needs to register in advance and sign up for an opportunity that has available slots in a shift. Our organization relies heavily on volunteer service to complete our mission. It important for us to have an accurate count of how many volunteers to expect so that we can staff and plan accordingly. We strive to provide a quality experience for those that we serve as well as our volunteers who are serving. When volunteers do not show up for their scheduled shift it negatively impacts the quality of the volunteer experience for volunteers, delays to distributing food and at times, and adds overtime in staffing. Please arrive on time and stay for the entire duration of the shift. Volunteers more than 15 minutes late will not be able to participate as our orientation provides important safety information and project instructions. We understand that things happen and appreciate advance notice for cancelations so we can accommodate waitlisted volunteers.
How old do I have to be to volunteer?
Our warehouse shifts and mobile distributions require a minimum age of 10. Youth between the ages of 10-16 must have a guardian present.
What kind of work will volunteers be doing?
Should I volunteer if I have food allergies?
What should I wear?
Closed-toe/closed-heel comfortable, safe footwear is required. No crocs, flip flops or sandals. Please wear appropriate length shorts and no crop tops or tank tops. Our warehouse is not climate controlled, please dress according to the weather.
Where Are you Located?
How do I track my hours?
How can I print out and share my volunteer hours?
You can export your hours from the Track Hours tab in your volunteer profile, or you can download your volunteer resume that highlights your volunteer activity for a selected date range. This print-out includes graphs showing volunteer hours by month and what types of volunteer work has been done.
