Volunteering at
Food Shift
Food Shift offers several volunteer opportunities: on-site and remote or virtual, 6+ months in duration, with varying hours of commitment.
We have established programs for formal engagement such as Executives or Entrepreneurs-in-Residence and student internships. We engage volunteers with a broad range of skills in social media management, web design, databanking, research, community organizing, food recovery, and more. All volunteers are required to participate in Food Shift’s Developing a JEDI Lens, a virtual interactive workshop on justice, equity, diversity & inclusion.
Want to share your skills? Explore our available positions below. If your particular skill set doesn’t match our position descriptions, we still want to hear from you! We design volunteer opportunities based on the professional skills our volunteers have to offer, whether it’s photography, communications, database management, or anything else you have experience with.
To join us, please fill out our volunteer intake form here. Contact info@foodshift.net with any questions, and include your program of interest in the subject line.
Operation Together Volunteer
We need volunteers to nourish our neighbors with the surplus food we recovered. Operation Together volunteers will assist Food Shift staff pick up food donations and deliver to our partner sites. We need your help to curate, transport, unload, and weigh donated food, predominantly from East Bay food businesses using Food Shift vehicles. We request one shift of 3 hours per week for a period of at least 3 months.
Operation Together volunteers will be asked to assist with one of our three shifts, or be trained to pick up and deliver one-off food donations. All regular shifts begin and end at Food Shift headquarters in Alameda Point.
Our regular shifts are:
- Oakland wholesale produce market (Jack London Square area)
- Tuesdays 7:15 AM to 11:45 AM
- Thursdays 7:15 AM to 11:45 AM
- Whole Foods Market (Temescal store in Oakland)
- Tuesdays 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Requirements:
- Ability to load and unload produce (up to 50 lbs per bag/box)
- California driver’s license and a clean driver’s record if assisting with driving Food Shift’s vans
- Food Shift JEDI workshop participation as part of the on-boarding process
We welcome folks with intersectionalities that reflect the communities we serve. Multi-language skills, especially Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, are highly desired.
All Operation Together volunteers will have the opportunity to
- Take home groceries from our haul
- Gain food handling skills
As someone who’s self-employed and mostly works from home I was looking for a volunteer opportunity that would connect me to a wider community, would let me use some different skills, and hopefully teach me some new ones too. It’s been all that and more. There’s always a really positive spirit of teamwork, where everyone is valued and everyone learns from each other.
Executive-In-Residence Program
This program is designed for executives who are in transition or shifting gears on their career path, and would like to give their time to a project at Food Shift that leverages their strengths and talents.
Residencies give executives exposure to a nonprofit organization and an opportunity to make an impact. The program can be customized with an average of 10 hours a week for a minimum commitment of three months.
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As someone who’s spent a lot of time in the corporate/tech world, it’s been amazing to be able to look inside and learn the nonprofit world, particularly through the lens of Food Shift, whose mission is one that I’m personally very passionate about (Food Waste and Social Justice). I’ve been able to lend my ‘talents’ in a multitude of ways, from management, strategy, and coaching, to helping with technical projects, and to helping with the food recovery operation. That I get to contribute in all these ways (really, anything that I can help with, I try to) is especially rewarding for me.
Donate Today
Your contribution helps nourish the people and the planet. Help us create lasting change in the food system.
