Summer Volunteer Opportunities
As temperatures rise, so does the need for food assistance. This makes summertime the best time to get involved with volunteer work. Consider donating time before or after your summer vacation to help your local food bank provide meals to your neighbors in need.
Food Sorting & Repacking
Monday: 8:00 am to 12:00 pm
Tuesday – Friday: 8:00 am to 12:00 pm
Tuesday – Thursday: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Saturday: 8:00 am to 12:00 pm
Food sorting and repacking is one of the most popular volunteer opportunities at the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank! Summertime allows for larger groups to come in for these shifts, especially teens out of school for summer vacation who may need community service hours.
Volunteers who sort and repack donations help the Food Bank by organizing, processing, and boxing up non-perishable food items. This experience includes moderate lifting and walking within the warehouse environment. In addition to being a pleasant exercise outlet, volunteering in the warehouse is also a great social opportunity as there is always fun music and enjoyable conversations.
If one of your concerns is beating the Louisiana heat, don’t sweat it! The sort and repack area has three industrial ceiling fans circulating the entire time. There is also one of these fans in the breakroom, where volunteers get to enjoy complimentary snacks, bottled waters, and popsicles throughout their shift.
Bulk Packaging
Monday: 8:00 am to 12:00 pm
Tuesday – Friday: 8:00 am to 12:00 pm
Tuesday – Thursday: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Saturday: 8:00 am to 12:00 pm
Within sort and repack is bulk packaging, an opportunity that allows for volunteers to work firsthand with an industrial packaging machine. This factory-sized bulk packager does exactly what its name entails!
Some items expected to be packaged are cereal, rice, and beans. Volunteers can anticipate cleaning, inspecting, packaging, and operating the equipment firsthand.
Administrative Support
Monday – Friday: 8:00 am to 12:00 pm
Tuesday – Thursday: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
If you’re looking for a calmer work environment, think about giving your time to a position like administrative support. This opportunity is great for teens and college students looking to gain an authentic office experience. This low-impact position asks for volunteers to fold letters, answer phones, enter data, scan, and file.
Mobile Pantry Program
Dates posted to calendar monthly: 7:30 am – 10:00 am & 9:30 am – 11:30 am
Did you know that you can volunteer with us outside of our warehouse site? If the drive to our East Baton Rouge location may be too far, consider helping out at our mobile pantry program!
Mobile pantry distributions, or mobile distributions, occur weekly at many of the agencies throughout our 11-parish service area. Volunteers help by bringing clients’ food directly to their vehicles.
Senior Grocery Program
First Saturday of each month: 7:30 am to 10:00 am
A similar distribution opportunity happens at the Food Bank on the first Saturday of each month. The Senior Grocery Program provides shelf-stable food to qualified seniors. Volunteers are expected to stow food boxes consisting of breakfast foods, assorted canned and dry shelf-stable fruits, vegetables, and proteins into the seniors’ cars.
To find out more about these great opportunities and to register yourself or others, click here.
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