In 2022 alone, we coordinated over 460 active volunteers to sort and distribute high quality groceries to families across Whatcom County. Volunteering with us will give you the opportunity to meet new people, learn new things, and serve your community.
Volunteers are at the core of every program we run.
Here are some examples of what you can do:
- Home Delivery Driving
- Restocking Clerk
- Box Packing Assembly Line
- Drive Through Attendant
- Donation Sorting
- Gleaning Farm Work
You can sign up for a weekly shift or
be on call to fill in as needed.
We have additional need for language support! Did you know that over 28 languages are spoken at our Free Grocery Program? If you speak Ukrainian, Russian, Mixteco, Spanish, or any other language and are interested in helping us with outreach, proof-reaching, and interpreting, please contact Stephanie at 360-676-0392 x1007 or by email. You can also make a note on your volunteer application below.
Gleaning Program: Starting in June each year, we need volunteers to help us glean over 60,000 lbs. of fresh produce from local farms. If you are interested in being a gleaning volunteer, OR if you own a farm or garden and would like our volunteers to glean your excess produce, please Learn More Here.
Before You Sign Up:
- If you need community service hours as part of a school or court-mandated requirement, send the number of hours and due date to Operations Manager Melanie Danner.
- You must be enthusiastic about engaging in a physically demanding volunteer job: able to stand for up to 5 hours at a time while twisting, bending, and lifting 20-30 pounds.
- You must be over the age of 18 to help out with our home delivery program, or over the age of 16 to help with any other programs.
After You Sign Up:
After you’ve submitted your form you will receive an automatically generated confirmation email. If your availability is compatible with our volunteer schedule, within a week you should receive an invitation to sign up for a 40 minute virtual volunteer orientation. If we have questions about your schedule and availability, we will contact you via email prior to sending you a volunteer orientation invite.
If you do not receive any e-mails within a week of submitting your form, check your spam/junk folder. If there’s nothing there, please email Melanie directly at melanied@bellinghamfoodbank.org or call 360.676.0392
Not sure if volunteering is a good fit for you?
Learn about other ways to support!
Language Support. Let us know if you are interested in providing language support or making sure food bank resources are known about in your community! We need help creating and translating materials to communicate to a wide array of people. We especially need help with proof reading and creating audio materials for spoken languages. Contact Stephanie at 360.676.0392 x1007 or by email.
Community Loaves. Do you love baking bread? With support from Community Loaves, you can bake bread for the Bellingham Food Bank! This fantastic group of community bakers will provide you with everything you need to get started. Since 2021, we have received over 4,000 loaves of fresh baked-bread from our neighbors, and it truly is lovely to see. To sign up, attend a Community Loaves info session.
Join our Advocacy Team. If you are civically-minded and want to know what is happening in our work with local government and beyond, sign up for our Advocacy Team! It makes a huge difference when community members share their voice and story with local officials to remind the world that hunger is unacceptable. We will not stop advocating until everyone has ample access to the nutritious food they need, and we would love for you to join us.