At Our Headquarters

At the food bank we use a lot of volunteers - assembling pre-ordered loads of food for agencies to pick up, helping agencies load their orders, repacking bulk products (cereal, vegetables, pasta, etc.) into smaller packages, evaluating damaged goods and assembling assorted food boxes. In the office we sometimes need volunteers to help with mailings and other projects.

Our current hours of operation for volunteering are Monday-Friday 9:00-4:30 and Saturday 8:00-1:00. Individuals and groups are both welcome to volunteer on a regular basis, or just once, or once in a while. Younger volunteers are welcome, if they truly want to work and come with adult co-workers. As we have worked the math on how much food is distributed per hour worked (dividing our total distribution by the number of hours worked by paid staff and by volunteers) we have found that each hour a person works at the food bank results in about $300 of additional food being distributed. Interested? Call us at (616) 784-3250.

To learn more about volunteering in our main facility or to schedule a time for yourself or your group, e-mail Dena Rogers or contact her by phone at (616) 784-3250.

In The Fields

Second Harvest Gleaners also needs volunteers to "glean" or pick produce at local farm fields and orchards. In 2006, this program brought in nearly 24,000 pounds of fresh-as-it-comes produce to feed the needy. A total of about 280 volunteers from many walks of life as well as seven area farmers participated in the program.

This year's gleaning outings will include trips to several Kent County area farms to pick a variety of fruits and vegetables from June to October. For more information on how to participate, e-mail Dena Rogers or contact her by phone at (616) 784-3250.

Across Our Network

If you are nearer to one of our Branch or Subsidiary warehouse locations and would like to volunteer there, please call them:

Houghton/Hancock: Western UP Food Bank - (906) 482-5548
Ishpeming: Central UP Food Bank - (906) 485-4988
Sault Ste. Marie: Eastern UP Food Bank - (906) 632-0348
Petoskey: Manna Project - (231) 347-8852
Cadillac: Northwest Gleaners - (231) 779-0056
St. Joesph: Southwest Gleaners - (269) 983-7260

If you are elsewhere in the country, please contact the Second Harvest National Food Bank Offices in Chicago at (312) 263-2303 or via their Web Site www.secondharvest.org for the name and number of your area's food bank.