Food handler

As a Pantry Volunteer, you’ll be playing a vital part in making sure residents receive food parcels. With other volunteers, you’ll sort and organise surplus food delivered to our venue, ensuring bags are evenly made up and full of delicious food for our pantry members each week. You’ll ensure that enough bags are made up while following social distancing and food hygiene practices.

About The Local Pantry: 

The Local Pantry combines surplus food and the help of volunteers to create nutritious food parcels for the community. Members of the local pantry receive a weekly parcel (containing a variety of items worth in excess of the membership fee) paying just £3.50 per week, freeing up more money for essentials and reducing food waste. We have 3 main aims:

• To improve nutrition and reduce hunger 
• To strengthen communities while encouraging friendships 
• To stop good food going to landfill 

What does a Food Preparation & Packing Volunteer do? 

Morning session: You’ll help with setting up the hub ensuring the building is clean and daily checks are completed and recorded. You will help with the receiving and unloading of food deliveries, packing into individual parcels ready for members to collect. Working with other volunteers you’ll make sure the food is free from damage, suitable for eating, and that all refrigerated food is stored correctly. Volunteers will maintain good hygiene standards.

Afternoon session: You will help with distributing the prepared food parcels to our members, assisting them where necessary, ensuring good customer service for all visitors to the Pantry. As a team make sure at the end of the session all surplus food is in date and correctly stored for the following week. At the end of the session ensure the hub is left in a clean and tidy state and all appropriate checks completed and recorded.

To apply for this role you should be: 

• Committed to turning up on time or giving reasonable notice if you’re unable to attend your shift
• A clear communicator with a reasonable level of written and spoken English
• A team player, working well with fellow volunteers
• Well organised and able to work in a busy environment
• Able to (with correct posture) lift and move potentially heavy bags or containers of food – training provided
• Happy to learn about and uphold food hygiene standards.

Volunteers may be subject to DBS checks.

Skills you’ll learn:

·       Teamwork: You’ll work as part of a team, ensuring the pantry is ready for when members arrive

·       Relationship building: You’ll build lasting relationships with fellow volunteers and the wider Pantry staff

·       Time management: Keeping organised and bagging food in a timely way, ready for members’ arrival

·       Food Hygiene: To run the service, you’ll learn how to safely handle food in a community setting

·       Other skills based on your interests – such as meal planning, photography, use of social media – training available

What to expect from us:

• Regular support from Pantry Team Leader
• Ad-hoc training, which will include safeguarding, manual handling etc
• Impressive skills to add to your CV and a reference if/ when you need it
• The opportunity to work with a group of like-minded people
• The opportunity to make a difference to people’s lives and to the environment

Safeguarding statement 

For more information or to apply email:

 Safeguarding is Everyone’s business – The Local Pantry is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare and wellbeing of children, young people and adults at risk. It expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.