Fresh Food Wednesday Volunteer Opportunities

There are many ways in which you can join in the mission of eliminating food insecurity in our community. At The Gathering at Scott Memorial UMC (TG@SM) we produce a Drive-Thru Food Distribution, using food that we have procured from several partners, including The Foodbank (FB), Amazon Fresh (AF), Food Lion, and other donors. We are currently providing substantial food to over 1000 persons every week.
 
The program is volunteer-managed and driven.
 
Most of the activities occur on Tuesday and Wednesday. Join our community of over 100 volunteers that enjoy the fellowship and camaraderie in serving on this mission together. Our volunteers come from many areas in our community, from Navy ships to corporations to churches to clubs to individuals. If you have a heart for this mission, please join us…please volunteer.
 
We welcome volunteers to call 757-428-3720, email office@gatheratscott.com, sign up here or just show up! 

Areas where Volunteers regularly help:

  • Driving trucks and transporting food from our Partners
  • Loading, organizing, and packing food for our Guests
  • Passing out the food to our Guests in our drive-thru food distribution
  • Attending the cars as we park and then usher the cars in line through the drive-thru
  • Staging, maintenance, and cleanup of the events
  • Participation on our Leadership Team

Tuesday Opportunities:

DRIVERS (8 AM -12 PM)
CDL is not required but volunteer-drivers must be vetted by church office. Please contact the church office for more information at 757-428-3720. Drive either a 20’ refrigerated truck or a UHaul truck from Virginia Beach to the Foodbank (FB) in Norfolk to pickup food. The food will be loaded with forklifts by FB personnel. Deliver the food to TG@SM in VB.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LOADERS (10:45 AM-12 PM)
Unloading food from two trucks and moving it indoors. Pallet jacks and carts are used and this involves lifting and loading. The food will be organized in various areas for packing on Wednesday into boxes and bags for our guests.
     

STAGING (9 AM-11 AM)
Set up workspace for packing boxes and bags with food. Involves arranging work areas with tables, chairs and supplies, as well as beginning the loading of food into boxes. This prepares the area for a full day of activity on Wednesday.

Wednesday Opportunities:

WEDNESDAY MORNING
 
DRIVER – PERSONAL TRUCK (9 AM -12 PM)
Drive personal truck and pull our 12’ covered trailer to Amazon Fresh on London Bridge Blvd. After loading trailer, pull trailer to TG@SM for unloading. Note: Pickup trailer from parking lot of TG@SM and return and secure trailer at church.

DRIVER – REFRIGERATED TRUCK (9 PM -12 PM)
Drive refrigerated truck to Amazon Fresh on London Bridge Blvd. After loading, drive truck to TG@SM for unloading. NOTE: Truck is parked in secure storage lot on Central Drive (very near to Amazon Fresh) and must be retrieved from and returned to storage lot. CDL is not required but volunteer-driver must be vetted by church office. Please contact the church office for more information at 757-428-3720.
 
LOADERS (9:45 AM -12 PM)
Loading food donations received from Amazon Fresh onto our trucks. This position starts at Amazon Fresh, located at 492 Central Dr. in Virginia Beach VA 23454. The building faces London Bridge Road and the loading dock is on the back left side of the building. Sort and load Amazon Fresh food and other products into truck and trailer, and then go to The Gathering at Scott Memorial UMC to unload products. Pallet jacks and carts are used and this involves lifting and loading. Cleanup work area as needed.

Wednesday Mid-Day
 
PANTRY TEAM (9 AM – 2 PM)
Organize non-perishable food and load into 300-400 grocery bags for distribution later that day.
 
BOX TEAM ONE (11 AM – 3 PM)
Sort and load fresh produce and more into banana boxes for later distribution. Organize and prep dairy products, frozen meats and foods into plastic bags for later distribution. This job is inside a climate-controlled area and while it requires considerable time on your feet, it does not require heavy lifting. Cleanup work area as needed.
 
BOX TEAM TWO (12:30 PM – 4:30 PM)
Sort and load fresh produce and more into banana boxes for later distribution. Organize and prep dairy products, frozen meats and foods into plastic bags for later distribution. Cleanup work area as needed.
   
 
 
Wednesday Afternoon/Evening
 
TRAFFIC & PARKING TEAM (3:45 PM – 6:45 PM) 
Assist with directing traffic into and out of the parking lot in a safe and orderly manner. This work requires the ability to walk comfortably around moving vehicles, alertness and concentration. This team also stages the parking lot with safety cones and barricades. Every volunteer must wear high visibility vests which we provide because safety is our highest priority. Cleanup work area as needed, returning all equipment to storage areas. The Traffic Manager will supervise these volunteers and the traffic operation.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FOOD DISTRIBUTION in DRIVE-THRU (3:45 PM – 6:45 PM)
Most volunteers will place food boxes and bags into parked vehicles. There will be several categories of food to be loaded and each volunteer will participate in loading one specific item. The weight of the items ranges from 1-20 lbs. Other jobs during this time period include “Traffic Direction”, “Data Intake” and “Greeting”, all of which include conversing with our guests. Currently we are processing approx. 150 vehicles, feeding over 1000 people each week. Every volunteer must wear high visibility vests which we provide. Safety is our highest priority during the distribution. Cleanup work area as needed.
 
RUNNER / PUSHER DURING FOOD DISTRIBUTION (3:45 PM – 6:45 PM)
Re-supplying all of the food throughout the evening, bringing the prepared boxes, bags, coolers, dairy stands, etc. from inside the church to the Food Distribution Area. This job is physically demanding, requiring lifting of large filled coolers on and off of hand trucks, movement of full dairy stands, loading boxes onto hand trucks then onto the tables.
 
CLEAN UP (5 PM -7:00 PM)
After all of the general preparation and the distribution of food we sanitize everything, including all of our carts, coolers, tables and floors. This work is a vital part of our ministry and we are grateful to all of these humble volunteers. This work makes it possible to continue this mission, maintaining our healthy workspaces for our volunteers and the delivery of safe foods to our guests.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We welcome volunteers to call 757-428-3720, email office@gatheratscott.com, sign up here or just show up!