Volunteer
Our organization thrives on the dedication of volunteers who serve as the driving force behind our efforts. With the invaluable support of our committed volunteers, we are able to provide weekly assistance to more than 2,800 people. Volunteer at the Richmond Food Bank to help us in our mission in creating a hunger-free community.
Individual Volunteer
Volunteers are the heart of our organization. Please complete the registration form below if you would like to join our team of volunteers. Our volunteer team is normally quite full, but we will reach out if there are any spaces available.
Group Volunteer
We appreciate all the support we get from other businesses and organizations. If your organization would like to volunteer with us, please complete the group volunteer form below, and we will get back to you if we are able to accommodate your group.
Between Monday, November 18th and Friday, December 20th, volunteer groups will be restricted to 5 people during times when we are giving out food, and 7 people when we are not. Each organization will be restricted to one volunteering session each during this period. Please be advised that even with these restrictions there may not be availability for your group to come in and volunteer. We recommend checking the Richmond Care, Richmond Gives (RCRG) website for more potential opportunities.
Volunteering With Us
Our remarkable volunteers contribute over 25,000 hours of their time to the Richmond Food Bank annually. Their selfless efforts form the backbone of our organization and enable us to make a positive impact in the lives of those we serve.
Volunteering has many benefits, such as learning new skills, staying active, and making new friends.
Volunteers at the Richmond Food Bank:
- Collect, sort, pack, and distribute donated food;
- Deliver food to those who cannot leave home;
- Help organize our warehouse;
- Represent us at community events;
- Provide outreach and information to our clients;
- Serve as directors on our board;
- Much, much more.
FAQs for Group Volunteers
Our only restriction is age – we cannot accept any volunteers under the age of 15. Organizations, businesses, other non-profits, school groups, and community or religious groups are all welcome!
Because of how busy our distribution days are, we usually ask our group volunteers to come in on days when we don’t give out food, normally on Tuesdays and Fridays. However, in late November and throughout December we also ask small groups (around 3-5 people) to help us hand out hot chocolate to our clients on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays when we give out food.
There is some flexibility in the timing of group volunteering sessions, but they will generally fall somewhere between 10am and 3pm.
Due to our office hours and resource considerations, we are unfortunately unable to offer slots on evenings and weekends. If this is the only availability your group has, we recommend checking the Richmond Cares Richmond Gives (RCRG) website to see if there are any opportunities that better suit your group’s schedule.
We generally try and keep our volunteer groups to no more than 7 volunteers, and it is difficult for us to accommodate groups of more than 10. However, if your group is larger than this, you can still submit an application. On rare occasions, there may be the option to split the group up across multiple days, or in different slots on the same day.
Our volunteering sessions are usually around 2-2.5 hours, in order to ensure that everyone in the group has enough to do.
Volunteer groups usually help us with activities our regular volunteer team does not get the chance to do. Activities vary from group to group and depends on our needs on a given day. Tasks may include packing hampers, repacking larger food items, and cleaning or reorganizing the warehouse. Most groups will typically sort through donations or give out food directly to clients.
Once an application is submitted, we will reach out if we are able to schedule a session with the group. If you don’t hear from us, it means that there is currently no availability for your group to come in, but we will keep your group’s application on file should anything come up in the future.
We are very appreciative of groups who enjoy their volunteering experience and would like to come back. Unfortunately, due to high demand, we are unable to offer any groups a regular volunteering slot. We can sometimes offer a group another volunteering slot at a later date, but this is not guaranteed and would generally be limited to around twice a year.
Yes! Monetary donations from either individuals or groups are always appreciated. Organizing a food drive within your organization or the wider community is also extremely helpful in ensuring that we have enough high-quality food to give to our clients. You can register for a donation drive online, and we can offer you support and guidance throughout the process.
If you have any questions regarding monetary or food donations, you can email us at info@richmondfoodbank.org. For more information about the services we provide, and how both monetary and food donations help with this, check out our 2023 Annual Report.
Please contact us if your questions were not answered above.