What to Expect When Volunteering

Purpose:
Good Shepherd Food Bank is Maine’s largest hunger-relief organization and is responsible for the procurement and distribution of millions of pounds of food annually. To accomplish this task volunteers are needed to inspect millions of pounds of donated food that arrives at our distribution centers. Most of the food is fit for consumption, but each item needs to be inspected to ensure it is safe for distribution.

Responsibilities:
Volunteers inspect each item to ensure that it is safe for human consumption. This involves checking seals on packaged items, inspecting the condition of the products, checking “best by” dates against the USDA Food Keeper regulations, and repairing packaging. Items that are deemed safe are placed on a conveyor belt to be sorted by the Volunteer Food Sorter. Items that are open, badly damaged, or otherwise do not pass inspection will not go to waste, but be recovered for other purposes.

Skills/Abilities Required:

• Minimum age of 16
• Willingness to ask questions of staff members and take direction
• High attention to detail
• Ability to find holes and imperfections in items
• Ability to follow and remember many detailed directions
• Ability to work with minimal supervision (training will be provided)
• Ability to work stand/walk for extended periods of time with repetitive motion
• Some volunteers may be asked to lift up to 50 pounds

Location:
Auburn Distribution Center, 3121 Hotel Road, Auburn, Maine
Map

Time Commitment:
We recommend volunteering a minimum of two hours per visit, but scheduling is flexible, and we welcome you to volunteer as often, or as long as you like.

Purpose:
Good Shepherd Food Bank is Maine’s largest hunger-relief organization and is responsible for the procurement and distribution of millions of pounds of food annually. To accomplish this task volunteers are needed to sort millions of pounds of donated food that arrives at our distribution center. After the food items pass through our inspection line, it is sorted into bins by item type.

Responsibilities:
Volunteers take items one by one off the conveyor belt after passing by the inspection line and sort them into bins labeled by item type.

Skills/Abilities Required:

• Minimum age of 16
• Attention to detail
• Patience and ability to work as a team
• Willingness to ask questions of staff members and take direction
• Ability to work with minimal supervision (training will be provided)
• Ability to stand/walk for extended periods of time with repetitive motion
• Ability to reach overhead
• Ability to lift 15 pounds

Location:
Auburn Distribution Center, 3121 Hotel Road, Auburn, Maine
Map

Time commitment:
We recommend volunteering a minimum of two hours per visit, but scheduling is flexible, and we welcome you to volunteer as often, or as long as you like.

Purpose:
Good Shepherd Food Bank is Maine’s largest hunger-relief organization and is responsible for the procurement and distribution of millions of pounds of food annually. Some of this food comes to us from a manufacturer damaged and without a factory label. We are often able to duplicate a label from the manufacturer and affix it to the can or packaging. As the Food Bank is unable to distribute items without ingredient labels, volunteers are essential in ensuring that this food is ready to distribute.

Responsibilities:
Volunteers check canned and packaged items to ensure that they are sealed and in good condition and then affix a nutrition label on or into the package as instructed by the volunteer supervisor.

Skills/Abilities Required:

• Minimum age of 14
• Attention to detail
• Willingness to ask questions of staff members and take direction
• Ability to work with minimal supervision (training will be provided)
• Sitting may be accommodated in this task

Location:
Auburn Distribution Center, 3121 Hotel Road, Auburn, Maine
Map

Time Commitment:
We recommend volunteering a minimum of two hours per visit, but scheduling is flexible, and we welcome you to volunteer as often, or as long as you like.

Purpose:
Good Shepherd Food Bank is Maine’s largest hunger-relief organization and is responsible for the procurement and distribution of millions of pounds of food annually. The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) works to improve the health of low-income people at least 60 years of age by supplementing their diets with nutritious USDA commodity foods. CSFP food packages do not provide a complete diet, but rather are good sources of the nutrients typically lacking in the diets of older Mainers.

CSFP is administered at the Federal level by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Good Shepherd Food Bank prepares and distributes CSFP food boxes for the state of Maine. The Food Bank distributes between 6,000 – 9,000 CSFP food boxes each month to partner agencies across the state.

Responsibilities:
Volunteers work as a team to accurately pack boxes with specific food items. Some volunteers may be asked to help feed the line by opening boxes of food and placing the boxes in the corresponding location.

Skills/Abilities Required:

• Minimum age of 14
• Attention to detail
• Willingness to ask questions of staff members and take direction
• Ability to work with minimal supervision (training will be provided)
• Ability to work standing for extended periods of time with repetitive motion
• Ability to reach overhead
• Ability to work in varying temperatures
• Some volunteers may be asked to lift up to 50 pounds

Location:
The Hannaford Center, Hampden Distribution Center, 11 Penobscot Meadow Drive, Hampden, Maine
Map

Time commitment:
We recommend volunteering a minimum of two hours per visit, but scheduling is flexible, and we welcome you to volunteer as often, or as long as you like.

Purpose:
Good Shepherd Food Bank is Maine’s largest hunger-relief organization and is responsible for the procurement and distribution of millions of pounds of food annually. We provide healthcare partners with pre-packed emergency food bags for direct and immediate distribution to those who identify as food insecure. These bags, purchased by the healthcare center and provided to patients at no cost, can provide 2-3 days of nutritious shelf-stable food to patients struggling to manage a chronic illness.

Good Shepherd Food Bank provides training to healthcare partners interested in implementing the Hunger Vital Signs™ Food Insecurity Screening questions as part of routine patient visits. Each healthcare partner is also provided with a list of local emergency food access points to offer to patients that screen positive for food insecurity. In addition, we work closely with local partner agencies to make sure they have enough healthy food on hand to serve community members who are referred there from healthcare partners.

Responsibilities:
Volunteers work as a team to accurately pack bags with specific food items. Some volunteers may be asked to help feed the line by opening boxes of food and placing the boxes in the corresponding location.

Skills/Abilities Required:

• Minimum age of 14
• Attention to detail
• Ability to follow direction
• Ability to work with minimal supervision (training will be provided)
• Ability to reach overhead
• Ability to work standing for extended periods of time with repetitive motion
• Some volunteers may be asked to lift up to 50 pounds

Location:
The Hannaford Center, Hampden Distribution Center, 11 Penobscot Meadow Drive, Hampden, Maine
Map

Time commitment:
We recommend volunteering a minimum of two hours per visit, but scheduling is flexible, and we welcome you to volunteer as often, or as long as you like. This task is available on an as-needed basis.

Purpose:
Good Shepherd Food Bank is Maine’s largest hunger-relief organization and is responsible for the procurement and distribution of millions of pounds of food annually. We source and distribute more produce than any other type of food; volunteers help us inspect it for quality and longevity and repack it into boxes to be distributed. This is a critical role in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our consumers.

Responsibilities:
Volunteers inspect boxes or bins of produce to check for any bruises, brown spots or softening. The produce must then be sorted into boxes that will be distributed to agencies. Unacceptable produce will be boxed and reused by pig farmers or Agricycle.

Skills/Abilities Required:

• Minimum age of 14
• Attention to detail
• Willingness to ask questions of staff members and take direction
• Ability to work with minimal supervision (training will be provided)
• Sitting may be accommodated in this task. Ability to work standing is preferred.
• Ability to bend and reach overhead
• Volunteers may be asked to lift boxes up to 40 pounds

Location:
Auburn Distribution Center, 3121 Hotel Road, Auburn, Maine
Map

Hampden Distribution Center, 11 Penobscot Meadow Drive, Hampden, Maine
Map

Time Commitment:
We recommend volunteering a minimum of two hours per visit, but scheduling is flexible, and we welcome you to volunteer as often, or as long as you like. This task is available on an as-needed basis.

Purpose/Objective:
Good Shepherd Food Bank is Maine’s largest hunger-relief organization and is responsible for the procurement and distribution of millions of pounds of food annually. In order to create a more inclusive environment, we need volunteers to help translate resources for volunteers who are not fluent in English.

Responsibilities:
Volunteers will work with the volunteer engagement team to translate resources and tools into a second language. These resources include, but are not limited to, the volunteer website, volunteer handbook, posters in warehouses, and other communication tools. We may also need help translating for a volunteer before, during, or after the new volunteer’s orientation.

Skills/Abilities Required:
• Minimum age of 14
• Ability to read and communicate in English and a second language
• Excellent verbal and written communication
• Friendly, positive and professional demeanor
• Ability to maintain confidentiality
• Willingness to ask questions of staff members
• Ability to work with minimal supervision (training will be provided)

Location:
Auburn Distribution Center, 3121 Hotel Road, Auburn, Maine
Map

Hampden Distribution Center, 11 Penobscot Meadow Drive, Hampden, Maine
Map

Time commitment:
Time commitment will vary and be determined by the staff member and volunteer.
If you are interested in serving in this position, please reach out to the Volunteer Engagement Team or email volunteer@gsfb.org.

Volunteers for Cooking Matters Courses are expected to attend all six, two-hour classes, as well as a “class zero” before the start of the course. This does not take into account travel time, class preparation, and a 1.5-hour orientation/training. Course instructors should be comfortable speaking in front of groups and all volunteers must have reliable transportation as well as interest and comfort working with low-income individuals from diverse backgrounds. Some of the following roles may overlap.

Culinary Instructor

The culinary instructor serves as an educator and role model, teaching key skills and inspiring participants to cook healthier, inexpensive meals at home.

Responsibilities: Teach low-income participants the basics of food and kitchen safety, food preparation, and making healthy, low-cost choices and substitutions when cooking, according to the highlighted objectives of each lesson.

Skills/Experience Required: Professional culinary training or experience working in the food industry preferred. Self-taught or cooking enthusiasts are also welcome, granted they possess adequate knowledge of the subject matter.

Nutrition Educator

The nutrition instructor will serve as a teacher and role model, teaching and reinforcing key messages about healthy eating and inspiring participants to adopt healthy eating habits.

Responsibilities: Teach low-income participants basic healthy eating and food budgeting messages, according to the highlighted objectives of each lesson in the Instructor Guides based on USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Skills/Experience Required: Nutrition Training at an accredited institution. Registered Dietitian and/or four-year degree in nutrition, food science, dietetics, or related field preferred. Dietetic interns are encouraged to apply.

Course Coordinator

The course coordinator is responsible for organizing the Cooking Matters class and all parties involved.

Responsibilities: Identify and reach out to the appropriate host agency, find kitchen space, be in charge of both participant and volunteer recruitment, and act as point person for all volunteers and participants.

Skills/Experience Required: Ability to coordinate, take initiative, and have strong community organizing skills.

Class Shopper

The class shopper will do the grocery shopping prior to each class and ensure that each class is stocked with healthy, inexpensive foods.

Responsibilities: Shop for class supplies and weekly groceries using specified shopping lists, deliver groceries for both in-class and take-home groceries to the class site no later than 30 min. prior to the start of class, and keep accurate, organized records of money and receipts and submit them to the Cooking Matters Maine team.

Skills/Experience Required: Knowledge of general grocery shopping strategy and food budgeting techniques, strong organizational, budgeting, and money management skills.

Class Assistant

The class assistant will provide classroom assistance as needed.

Responsibilities: Assist instructors and team members with a variety of tasks such as: set up, classroom management, clean up, etc.

Skills/Experience Required: Flexibility, proactivity, and willingness to involve oneself in the classroom.