Food4Kids Hamilton 
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Food Packing Volunteer

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Overview: Each week, Food4Kids Hamilton provides healthy food bags to almost 1,400 children in 75 elementary and high schools across the city of Hamilton. These food bags are assembled by the Food4Kids Hamilton team with the invaluable help of volunteers. This a fun, fast-paced, and extremely important role within the Food4Kids program! Perfect for individuals (who are over 16 years of age) and groups.  

 

Details: The food for the weekly bags is placed on tables, and one of each item is placed in a bag.  Once all items are in the bag, it will be double-knotted and placed on a shelf at the front of the warehouse to be counted by a Food4Kids employee, ready for distribution to a child in need who is registered in the Weekends Without Hunger program. 

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Commitment: Every Wednesday afternoon/evening during the school year (September-June) for about 2 hours per session.

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Unpacking and Organizing Volunteer​

Overview: Because almost 1,400 food bags are packed weekly, with up to 15 items per bag, there are over 19,000 individual food items that must be unpacked and sorted on a weekly basis!  Without the help of volunteers, this would take an incredible amount of time to complete. This is a group opportunity for high school students who are looking to complete their Community Involvement high school volunteer hours.   

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Details: This particular role involves lifting and opening boxes of food, unpacking their contents, and placing them in appropriate containers for use in the weekly food bags.  The cardboard boxes will then be broken down and placed in the large recycling bin at the Food4Kids warehouse.

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Commitment: Every Wednesday afternoon during the school year (September-June) for about 2 hours per session.

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Delivery Driver Volunteer

Overview: Another equally important part of Weekends Without Hunger is actually getting the healthy food bags into the hands (backpacks) of the children registered in the program. This role is perfect for those individuals or groups wishing to help out on a weekly basis. Occasional/on-call availability is also welcome. 

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Details: Each delivery route has between 1-4 schools (this can vary based on the number of food bags required per school) that are grouped based on geographical location within the city.  On Thursday mornings, the Food4Kids volunteer drivers arrive at our Barton Street location to pick up their bins of food, and then head out to deliver to their assigned schools. We have large carts to transport the full bins (sometimes weighing up to 25 pounds!) to your vehicle, and dollies to help with transporting the bins from your vehicle to the schools. When our volunteers arrive at a school, they will buzz the main office for entry, introduce themselves, and take the bins to the appropriate location (this varies by school) within the school.  The school will give our volunteers the empty bins from the previous week. These can be kept until the following week, and returned to the Food4Kids warehouse when the next week’s food deliveries are picked up.   

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Commitment: Every Thursday morning during the school year (September-June) for 1-1.5 hours per session.

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Special Events Volunteer

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Overview: At Food4Kids Hamilton we have several special fundraising throughout the year that require the support of volunteers. Special events are great for those looking to get involved just once or twice a year!

 

Some of our annual events include:

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Tim Hortons Smile Cookie Decorating

Volunteers are invited to various Tim Hortons restaurants in the city of Hamilton to decorate cookies. Proceeds from all cookies sold then go to Food4Kids Hamilton & Hamilton Food Share! 

 

Flowers4Mom 

Hundreds of beautiful flower baskets are generously donated each year by our incredible partner Scharringa Greenhouses. Volunteers are asked to help deliver these baskets to the front door step of moms on the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend. 

 

Commitment: Most events happen once a year and require 1-2 hours per session.