I want to volunteer! How do I sign up to do that?
Excellent! The first step in volunteering is to register for an account. Registering as a volunteer is crucial to our ability to plan for your workday and keep you safe in our buildings. Once registered, you can then sign up online for our volunteer opportunities.
I want to volunteer with family, friends, or coworkers. How do I get us all signed up together to help?
We love volunteer groups large and small!
If you're volunteering and want to bring along more than just yourself - just click on the "RESPOND AS TEAM" button on the opportunity page and register as a team. You can reserve slots on a shift for your team members, even if they don't have their own email addresses or you don't know who they are yet.
It's important that we know how many people will be arriving for shifts so we can have accurate numbers for safety and project planning. If you'd like to volunteer with a friend or a family member, please register individually and take separate slots in the shifts or sign up as a team. Please don't write in the notes section that you're bringing along a buddy or relative as we don't always see that info immediately - especially for last-minute registrations.
Can I just show up? Why not?
In order to create a safe and enjoyable volunteer experience, every volunteer needs to register in advance and sign up for an opportunity that has available slots in a shift. Our organization relies heavily on volunteer service to complete our mission. It important for us to have an accurate count of how many volunteers to expect so that we can staff and plan accordingly. We strive to provide a quality experience for those that we serve as well as our volunteers who are serving. When volunteers do not show up for their scheduled shift it negatively impacts the quality of the volunteer experience for volunteers, delays to distributing food and at times, and adds overtime in staffing. Please arrive on time and stay for the entire duration of the shift. Volunteers more than 15 minutes late will not be able to participate as our orientation provides important safety information and project instructions. We understand that things happen and appreciate advance notice for cancelations so we can accommodate waitlisted volunteers.
How old do I have to be to volunteer?
Our warehouse shifts and mobile distributions require a minimum age of 10. Youth between the ages of 10-16 must have a guardian present.
What kind of work will volunteers be doing?
Tasks vary depending on the needs to be accomplished that week. Work may include sorting donated perishable or non-perishable food, packing food into boxes for distribution or pack bags for our Snack Pack program. Volunteers must be able to lift up to 20 lbs. and stand for up 2 to 3 hours at a time. Our volunteer coordinators will provide a brief orientation which includes safety protocols and project explanation.
Should I volunteer if I have food allergies?
Feeding Northeast Florida asks volunteers with food allergies to use their best judgment when determining to participate in food sorting or packing shifts. We cannot guarantee an allergy-free environment and strongly advise that volunteers with severe or life-threatening food allergies do not attend food packing events. Since much of our food is generously donated by various sources, it is possible that the food has been in contact with certain food allergens.
What should I wear?
Closed-toe/closed-heel comfortable, safe footwear is required. No crocs, flip flops or sandals. Please wear appropriate length shorts and no crop tops or tank tops. Our warehouse is not climate controlled, please dress according to the weather.
Our warehouse is located at:
5245 Old Kings Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32254
How do I track my hours?
By checking in with our Kiosk or the CauseConnect app, our volunteer management site will log your volunteer hours.
How can I print out and share my volunteer hours?
You can export your hours from the Track Hours tab in your volunteer profile, or you can download your volunteer resume that highlights your volunteer activity for a selected date range. This print-out includes graphs showing volunteer hours by month and what types of volunteer work has been done.
Do you accept matching grants from my company for volunteer work?
Yes! Remind your volunteers to take advantage of matching-grants or gifts their organization offers.
