Join our volunteer team

Did you know that we need more than 350+ volunteers each week to keep our community well fed?

With just a 3 hour commitment each week, you will make an important difference in the lives of our neighbors.

For individuals wanting to volunteer:

Here’s how: 

  1. For all individuals and families (non-groups), please complete this brief volunteer application. 
  2. You will receive an automatic welcome email when we are ready to start the process! Follow the instructions in the welcome email to get onboarded to volunteer. There will be an online orientation video and an in-person food bank walk through with a Q&A before your first shift. Please allow at least 2 weeks for your application to be processed before reaching out.
  3. Watch all designated training videos and attend the in person orientation. Set up your volunteer portal and self schedule your first shifts!
  4. Welcome to the team! Have fun, make friends and make a difference in your community

Drop in hours:

We have a limited amount of drop in volunteer times that do not require orientation.

Drop in hours are:

Tuesday 2:30-6pm 

Wednesdays 9:00am-11am

Friday’s 1:30-4pm.

During these drop in at volunteer times you can come to the food bank garage and check in with a back of house floor manager.

Before attending drop in hours please:

1.) Please review and agree to our code of conduct and volunteer policies here.

2.) Please watch these three training videos to prepare you for roles you may work on:

https://youtu.be/nqYEu4-J2G8 Drop in volunteer orientation

https://youtu.be/LARw2yhptoM  Check out volunteer training

https://youtu.be/_70KskWtJcM Back of House volunteer training

3.) Please print or e-sign our liability waiver: 

If printing, please bring it with you to your first shift. Our printable waiver can be found here. Or you can e-sign our liability waiver here, and a copy will be emailed to the volunteer coordinator prior to your shift.

The tasks you will be doing will vary on the day based on what we need at the food bank, sometimes it is cleaning task, sometimes roles within the food bank.

This is a great way to get started right away, or try it out and see if it’s a good fit!

Community Service Workers and High School Learners 

Community Service Workers:

Need volunteer hours for community service? We are able to host you to get hours needed if they are for a non-violent offense.

Important! Please allow enough time to serve the hours you need. Please do not contact us with emergency timelines to get hours or letters of verifications. It is your responsibility to plan accordingly. Please allow the appropriate time you need to complete your hours, and notify us with at least 3 business days to provide a letter of service.

We have a specific application for court hours. Look at our options and submit that application here.

Make sure to indicate that you need hours, how many, and when they are due. Please bring any documentation you need signed with you and if you need a letter of verification of your service hours, please send an email to volunteer@udistrictfoodbank.org when you have completed the hours you need, stating what you need the letter to say, where it needs to be emailed, and how many hours you are requesting to be verified. Please allow at least 3 business days for us to get this letter to you. Unfortunately we are unable to mail copies of your service letter and it must be emailed or picked up in person.

We also have drop in hours available (see below)

Are you a middle or high school student wanting to volunteer?

Age limits: We accept volunteers under 18! Ages 13-18 are welcome to volunteer on thier own with parental permission. But those 12 and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian during thier shifts.

To start volunteering submit an individual application.

You also have the option of dropping in during our drop in hours.

Please complete some of these necessary things before you arrive to drop in hours.

Drop in hours are:

Tuesday 2:30-6pm, Wednesday 9am-11am, and Friday 1:30-4pm.

If you would like to drop in at these times please come to the food bank garage (to the right of the food bank) and check in with a back of house floor manager.

Before attending please:

1.) Please print or e-sign our liability waiver: 

If printing, please bring it with you to your first shift. Our printable waiver can be found here. Or you can e-sign our liability waiver here, and a copy will be emailed to the volunteer coordinator prior to your shift.

2.) Please review and agree to our code of conduct and volunteer policies here.

3.) Please watch these two training videos to prepare you for roles you may work on:

https://youtu.be/nqYEu4-J2G8   Drop-in volunteer orientation

https://youtu.be/LARw2yhptoM   Check out volunteer training

https://youtu.be/_70KskWtJcM  Back of House volunteer training

The tasks you will be doing will vary on the day based on what we need at the food bank, sometimes it is cleaning task, sometimes roles within the food bank.

Please bring any documentation you need signed with you. If you need a letter of verification for service hours, please send an email to volunteer@udistrictfoodbank.org, when you have completed the hours, stating what you need the letter to say, where it needs to be emailed, and how many hours you are requesting to be verified. Please allow at least 3 business days for us to get this letter to you. Unfortunately we are unable to mail copies of your service letter and it must be emailed or picked up in person.

Group Volunteering

Do you have a group that you would like volunteer with at the food bank?

Please note we have limited times available for groups, because of the small size of our food bank. We are unable to accommodate group sizes of more than 16 people at one time.

We currently offer these times to host groups of volunteers within the food bank:

Thursday 3pm-6pm (for groups of up to 6 people) Working within the food bank distribution. This group shift works to bag groceries for customers, sort donations, and general tasks to help support the store when the 

Saturdays 12-2pm (for groups of up to 12 people) Working within the food bank, on a day we are closed for distribution. Cleaning tasks and help getting the store ready for Monday’s open.

Some Sundays available upon request (request in email)

Due to the large number of group request we receive we may not be able to answer every request.

To inquire and schedule a group volunteering with us: 

Please send a direct email to volunteer@udistrictfoodbank.org to inquire about availability and set a date!

Please include:

Group name/organization:

Number of volunteers expected:

What time and date you are hoping to come by to volunteer:

Thank you for your interest!

Other options for groups: 

If these times do not work for you to come into the food bank to volunteer, we have other options to get involved as a group to help!

With your group, you can host a food drive. One of the biggest issues we are currently dealing with is increased inflation costs, and lower amounts of food available and you can help stock our shelves! If interested you can host food drives or table for us at your local club, school or grocery store. This usually involves getting permission from where you plan to canvas for donations, collecting and bringing back into us or requesting a pickup. If you would like to host a food drive please reach out to Eric at eric@udistrictfoodbank.org.

Volunteer Roles at the Food Bank

Front of House (Food Bank Shopping Area)

Good skills for these roles: Customer service skills, someone who loves interacting with people!

Greeter: Manages the line of customers that are waiting to come into the food bank. Welcomes them, answers any questions, and allows a certain number of customers in to shop to allow for capacity, gives sheets to those who want someone to shop for them, hand out sandwiches and to-go bags.

Check in volunteer: Checks in customers into our intake database, gives them a shopping card, and answers any questions customers have. This role is sitting and working with a computer.

Check-out volunteer: Helps bag up customer groceries and check limits that are allowed based on their shopping cards, double bagging bags, and sanitizing. This role is standing.

Stocker: Goes back and forth between the warehouse area and the shopping store and stocks items that are low.

    Monday     Tuesday    Wednesday    Thursday     Friday     Saturday
  8am- 11am     8am-11am 8am 10:30pm    8am-11am
  10:45am-1pm    10:45am-1pm    11am- 2pm    11am- 1pm   10:45 am- 2pm
12:45pm- 4pm     12:45pm- 3pm    12:45pm- 3pm    1:45pm- 5pm
    2:45pm- 6pm    2:45pm- 6pm    5pm- 7pm
    5:45pm- 7:15pm    5:45pm- 7:15pm

These shifts get started with 15 minutes overlap from the previous shift to allow a handoff of volunteers and any information that needs to be passed on from food bank floor manager before the start of your shift.

Back of House  (Warehouse Area) 

Includes: Sorting pallets of donations including produce, deli, dairy and other items. Repackaging bulk items; Receiving donations; Breaking down and recycling cardboard; Bagging up produce like apples, potatoes and onions; Clean-up of warehouse; Sanitizing work spaces; Double bagging paper bags.

   Monday    Tuesday   Wednesday    Thursday       Friday       Saturday 
  8am-11am   8am- 12pm   8am- 11am   8am- 12pm   10am-12pm   9am-11:00am
  11am- 1pm   12pm- 3pm   11am- 2pm   12pm- 3pm    12pm-2pm  11:00am- 1pm
   1pm- 4pm     3pm- 6pm     3pm- 6pm     2pm- 5pm 12:30am-2pm
    6pm- 8pm     6pm- 8pm

Home Delivery Program Drivers:

Home Delivery Drivers support no-contact deliveries of bags and boxes of food to our neighbors who are disabled or otherwise homebound. Routes are usually about 7-8 stops and take about anywhere from 1 1/2- 2 hours. The routes are grouped in certain geographic areas in our service area in North Seattle (Green lake, U district, Sandpoint, Cap Hill etc.). This is a great way to get to know the neighborhood you live in better. You may have neighbors in need you might not even know about! We deliver Wednesdays and Saturdays and often need substitute home delivery drivers.

Requirements: Have your own vehicle. Being able to lift 40 pounds is good for this role. Must be able to pass a background check.

We are in need of sub drivers for the home delivery program! 

Being a sub requires no commitment and is super helpful, please sign up by checking the box in your application. Emails go out each week, and you take a shift when you are available.

Grocery Rescue Help:

Grocery Rescue is what we call going out to our neighborhood grocery stores to pick up (or rescue!) donations that have been set aside for us. This one major way we stock our shelves at the food bank! We have volunteers that go out in their own vehicles to collect from stores, or volunteers that do shifts riding along with a staff member in a UDFB vehicle to pick up donations. There is lifting of about 40 pound at times in these roles.

Grocery Rescue volunteers in thier own vehicles:  This job involves going out to a designated store once (or more if you like!) a week and picking up the donations they have set aside for us and bring them back to the food bank. This super important and helpful role helps us pick up all the donations that are available to us and keeps our shelves stocked. We have limited staff and time so we need helpers to collect everything! This is a fun one to see one system of support for the food bank, and how stores support the work we do, as well as reducing food waste!

This role requires at least a 3 month commitment, and a in person walk through of the store you choose with staff the first time.

Grocery Rescue Ride Along Volunteer:

This volunteer will ride along with a staff grocery rescue driver in our food bank vehicle and assist with picking up from local grocery stores donations.  This is a fun way to see how we stock our shelves and how our community partners support us. There is some heavy lifting required of about 40 lbs with this role.

Rooftop Roots Farm Volunteers:   Update: CLOSED FOR CONSTRUCTION! We are getting beautiful new beds built, and will reopen next year. 🙂 We will notify in our volunteer portal when shifts are available!

Volunteers support operations up on our Rooftop Farm. Includes: harvesting, planting, weeding, other farm projects. Using the link below, you can sign up to volunteer in the garden.