Volunteering at Second Harvest

Second Harvest offers many volunteer opportunities for people wanting to make a difference.  We welcome individual volunteers and groups from 2 to 50 people!  The Food Bank has monthly pack events that allow your group to work together on the same project – a great team-building activity!   For a list of this month's volunteer opportunities, please click here.  If you are volunteering at our Snowdrift Road location, click here for a parking map of the facility.

Volunteers can come to the Food Bank Monday through Friday between 7am and 3pm.  We only ask that you call ahead to make sure we have tasks available that day.  If these hours are not suitable for your needs, but you still want to help, contact Second Harvest at 610-434-0875 or shfb-info@caclv.org for a referral to one of our member agencies that could use your help.

For safety reasons, volunteers must be at least 14 years of age and require adult supervision up to age 18.

In an average week, the Food Bank has more than 30 volunteers completing over 100 total hours of work.  This is equivalent to almost three additional full-time staff members.

Scroll down or click on a specific project for more information about the volunteer opportunities we have available.

Backpack Buddies Pack | Cooking Matters | Hunger In America 2014 Survey | SUNShine Box Pack | General Warehouse Projects |

Backpack Buddies Pack

Groups of ten to fifteen volunteers come to the satellite location on the third Friday of every month to fill bags with food for the weekend for area youth.  Through agencies like the Boys and Girls Clubs, the bags are distributed to children who receive free or reduced-priced breakfast and lunch during the school day and don’t have access to those meals on the weekend.  The bags contain “kid-friendly” foods that are nutritious and easily prepared.

For more information about Backpack Buddies at Second Harvest click here.

Cooking Matters

A variety of volunteers are needed to teach and assist with Cooking Matters classes. Our volunteers play diverse roles in the classroom with the overall goal of empowering families, children, teens, and adults to prepare healthy meals on a budget. We have a variety of volunteer opportunities available within the program, including Chef Instructors, Nutrition Instructors, Class Assistants, Class Shoppers, and Photo/Video Journalists.

If you are interested in volunteering for any of the Cooking Matters positions, please fill out a Volunteer Application (please note this application is for Cooking Matters only). Email your completed applications and any additional questions to Ainsley Benner or call her at 610-434-0875 x3312. For more information about Cooking Matters at Second Harvest click here.

Hunger In America 2014 Survey

Many teams of three volunteers each are needed to visit emergency food pantries and soup kitchens from April 15 through August 30, 2013, to conduct Feeding America's Hunger in America 2014 survey.  You can volunteer for as many visits as you choose; we would prefer a minimum of 15 hours.  Training for volunteers will start in early April.  For more information, see our Volunteer Job Description.  If you are interested in assisting with this project, please fill out the Volunteer Sign-Up Form and send it, along with any additional questions to Janet Ney or call her at 484-893-1106.

SUNShine (Serving UnderNourished Seniors) Box Pack

Groups of twenty to forty volunteers come to the Food Bank’s satellite location on Snowdrift Road in Allentown on the first Tuesday of every month to help fill boxes with food provided by the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP).  Volunteers set up an assembly line to pack, seal, and stack the boxes so they are ready to be delivered to agencies for distribution to area senior citizens, new mothers and children.

For more information about SUNShine Boxes at Second Harvest click here

General Warehouse Projects

General warehouse projects include tasks such as gathering items for the orders for the member agencies, assisting drivers with deliveries, and sorting donations for suitability and preparing them for distribution.  These tasks are completed during normal business hours on days when there is no pack scheduled.

Want to Join Our Volunteers and Make Your OWN Difference?

Every month, Second Harvest needs 25 to 35 volunteers to complete pack events. For more information, contact Second Harvest at 610-434-0875 or email us at shfb-info@caclv.org