Volunteering at the Food Bank

Become a Food Bank Volunteer!

Congratulations to Bill Zimmer, our 2012 Volunteer of the Year!

Bill has been instrumental in organizing community farmers.  This year he is planning on expanding his operations due to adding interns to his program.  In addition, he is also planning a cold storage for foods collected.  Bill is also an active member of our Finance Committee.

Thanks to our proximity to Penn State, the State College School District, and other groups like RSVP, we receive an abundance of great volunteers during the regular school year. During the summer months and over major holidays, however, we are often in need of additional volunteers. That's when we need volunteers to stock shelves, pack bags and do general office duties. If you would like to help us fulfill our mission of providing food to those in need in Centre County, consider helping out during these times .

Would you or your group like to volunteer? If so, please complete the Volunteer Data Form or Group Volunteer Data Form, whichever is applicable. You can save it to your computer and email it to operations@scfoodbank.org. Once received, you will be contacted to arrange a time for orientation.

Volunteer shifts are available Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:30-12:30 or 1:00-4:00 and Saturdays from 9:30-12:30. Occasionally there may be volunteer opportunities outside of those hours. Please make sure to indicate your hours of avialability on the volunteer form.

STUDENTS: Please DO NOT WAIT until mid to late semester/year to sign up as time slots fill up quickly. We cannot guarantee that we can fulfill the number of hours that you need to complete, especially when requests are made at the last minute.

	Volunteers from Blue Mountain Quality Resources, a local software company, have helped stock shelves throughout the summer. As we lose a lot of volunteers during the summer when the students are gone, groups like this help to keep us going.

Volunteers are the backbone of our operations, and typically provide over 6000 volunteer hours helping the Food Bank! Both groups and individuals volunteer to keep our shelves stocked and bags packed. Some groups decide to volunteer together, usually once a month during non-service hours. Youth groups from the Latter Day Saints volunteer the first and third Tuesday of the month. A men’s prayer group from Trinity Lutheran volunteer the second Thursday of the month. Groups sort through donations and pack bags for client distribution. Service groups help us greatly to keep up with the needs of Centre citizens and they derive the satisfaction of serving the community together. Thanks to all our volunteers without whom we could not fulfill our mission of providing food assistance to families in need.