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 for general interest:

Here’s how: 

  1. For all individuals and families (non-groups), please complete this brief volunteer application. 
  2. Within 1-2 weeks, you will receive a 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!

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:

Monday 5-7pm (spots available for up to 10 people) Packing bags for our North Seattle College mobile pantry, and prepping the store for next days open. This shift happens when the food bank is closed. 

Tuesday 10:30am-12pm (spots available for up to 6 people) Packing boxes for our home delivery program. This activity takes place covered garage of the food bank. 

Saturdays 2-4pm (available for up to 16 people) Getting the food bank ready for the next open day of distribution. Cleaning tasks, sorting donations, cleaning and restocking shelves. This shift happens when the food bank is closed.

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 about group volunteering with us: 

Please send a direct email to volunteer@udistrictfoodbank.org to inquire about availability.

Please include:

Group name/organization:

Number of volunteers expected:

Any hopes or expectations you have during your volunteer experience!:

Thank you for your interest!

Other options for groups: 

We realize these times are a bit limited. 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.

Community Service Workers and High School Learners 

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.

If you plan on volunteering with us more than 12 hours for high school hours, or you would like to have a greater choice in roles please submit an individual application.

If you would like to volunteer less than 12 hours and do not want to attend orientation please reach out to volunteer@udistrictfoodbank.org

You have the option of dropping in during drop in hours Wednesday 9am-11am, or scheduling some separate times on Wed, Fri and Saturdays by emailing.

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.

Please allow enough time to serve the hours you need, we are not typically not able to accommodate last minute requests.

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 or request a letter by email at the end of your service.

Drop in hours:

We have a limited amount of  drop in volunteer times ONLY on Wednesday’s from 9am-11am at the food bank. During these hours you can come to the food bank and volunteer without going through orientation to get hours. If you would like to drop in please come Wednesday 9am-11am to the food bank garage and check in with a back of house floor manager.

More info about opportunities to volunteer:

Thank you for your interest in volunteering at our Food Bank! Volunteers help to distribute food to our customers 6 days a week Monday-Saturday. There are several different volunteer roles on site and off-site that support the work we do in the community. You can read through the roles that are currently available at the food bank to get an idea of what you might like to do and apply below!

*Please note we are still requiring volunteers to be fully vaccinated against covid (not including boosters).

Shifts and 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 (Back of house) 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- 7:45pm    5:45pm- 7:45pm

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  (Sorting And Food Storage 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! 

If you are able to be on a sub list and drive a home delivery route once in a while, please sign up by checking the box in your application. Emails go out each week. We’d love to have you!

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 with Cars:  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.

(We can talk more at volunteer orientation about stores and times, these are listed in a volunteer account that you will make at orientation)

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 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 in the spring or summer 🙂 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.