Volunteer

Thank you for helping the San Diego Food Bank feed hundreds of thousands of San Diegans facing food insecurity including low-income families, seniors living on a fixed income and children living in poverty!

Please continue scrolling to find detailed information about our volunteer program and when you are ready, click the “Register Now” button for a list of available shifts!

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Who Can Volunteer?

The Food Bank encourages all to volunteer who meet age qualifications.

San Diego Food Bank warehouse – Miramar Volunteers must be 11 years of age or older to volunteer at our San Diego Food Bank facility in Miramar.

North County Food Bank warehouse – Vista Volunteers must be 16 years of age or older to volunteer at our North County Food Bank facility in Vista.

Please note that age restrictions are required due to health and safety guidelines.

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Volunteer Projects

Each shift lasts about three hours and involves a variety of projects. Volunteer projects may include, but are not limited to:

  • Cleaning and packaging fresh produce for immediate distribution.
  • Inspecting, sorting, boxing, and labeling food donations.
  • Assembling food packages for our Senior Food Program, Emergency Food Assistance Program, and our Food 4 Kids Backpack Program

Please note: Volunteer tasks are predetermined by staff and are selected on an “as needed” basis.

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Online Registration and Check-in

Volunteers must sign up for a shift using our online registration system. When you arrive at the Food Bank for your volunteer shift, please check in at the front desk.

If you need the Food Bank to provide verification for the number of hours worked, please bring the associated paperwork with you for our staff to complete.

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Registration for Individual Volunteers

If you are a first-time volunteer, you will be asked to create a login and password when you sign up for your first shift on our volunteer registration system. Please be sure to store your login information for future use. Once registered and logged in, select your shift, and a confirmation email will be sent back to you. For returning volunteers, simply log in, select a shift, and you will receive a confirmation email.

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Groups of Less Than 5 Volunteers

If you have a group of less than five people, each volunteer must register as an individual. As long as you sign up for the same date and shift time, you will still be able to work together.

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Groups of 5 or More Volunteers

Volunteering is a great team-building activity. We welcome businesses, organizations, community groups and more to volunteer at our warehouse in Miramar.

For groups of 5 or more, please fill out our Group Volunteer Request Form below and a Food Bank staff member will help coordinate. Due to the high volume of requests, please allow at least 72 hours to receive a reply.

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Volunteer with our Nonprofit Partners

The San Diego Food Bank partners with more than 500 nonprofits that distribute our food in the community. We encourage you to also volunteer directly with them. Use search term “food” on Hands on San Diego’s website to find these opportunities.

Please note this is ONLY a referral. Food Bank staff do not oversee these volunteer opportunities. Any hours completed will not be recorded or tracked by the Food Bank. Not all food related volunteer postings are nonprofit partners of the Food Bank.

San Diego Food Bank’s
Top 5 Volunteer Rules

Please wear comfortable, closed-toes shoes.

Please arrive on time.

Only children ages 11 and older can volunteer at the San Diego Food Bank warehouse, and all children ages 11 to 15 MUST be accompanied by 1 adult for every 4 children volunteering.

All volunteers must be registered for the shift prior to arrival. We cannot accept walk-ins.

Can’t make it? Please give us a 24 hours’ notice, so we can fill your volunteer slot(s).

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Guidelines for Children

Due to health and safety regulations, we have age restrictions in place for each warehouse.

San Diego Food Bank warehouse – Miramar  Volunteers must be 11 years of age or older to volunteer at our San Diego Food Bank facility in Miramar. In addition, children ages 11 to 15 MUST be accompanied by an adult. 1 adult MUST ACCOMPANY every 4 children ages 11 to 15.

North County Food Bank warehouse – Vista Volunteers must be 16 years of age or older to volunteer at our North County Food Bank facility in Vista.

Educational, behind-the-scenes tours are available at both warehouse to groups of children who are not old enough to volunteer. Click on the button below to request a tour.

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Mandatory Volunteer Documents

Once volunteers are registered and have signed up for a shift, each volunteer MUST read our Policies and Procedures Document prior to arriving.

Click on the button below to view a PDF, and please read through it carefully.

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Guidelines for Court-mandated Service Hours

The Food Bank accepts court mandated service hours, but ONLY misdemeanor offenses will be considered eligible, and additional documentation must be provided.

The Food Bank will verify the information while your application is being considered. Failure to provide any of the required information will result in immediate disqualification of your volunteer application.

Questions?

If you have any questions, read through our FAQs list, and if you still have questions after reading, please email ourVolunteer Department.

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Thank you for supporting the mission of the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank.