Volunteering at Bread for the City

Whether distributing groceries, assisting with health education, or sorting clothing, Bread for the City depends on our network of dedicated individuals to make sure we can help as many people as possible.

Most of Bread for the City’s volunteer opportunities are appropriate for regularly attending individual volunteers who make a weekly commitment for an extended period of at least 3 months.

In order to join our volunteer roster, individuals must be able to do the following:

  • Work one 3-hour shift per week, either 9:00am-12:00pm or 1:00pm-4:00pm, Monday through Friday (excluding Friday afternoons).  We have no evening volunteer opportunities.
  • Make at least a 3-month commitment to their shift, to ensure a stable environment of service for our clients.
  • Be at least 15 years old if accompanied by an adult, or over 18 years if alone.
  • Be able to provide their own transportation to either of our centers, located at 1525 7th Street NW, Washington DC 20001 or 1640 Good Hope Road SE, Washington, DC 20020.

 

GROUP VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

There are two ways for groups of volunteers to get involved at Bread for the City, through our Holiday Helpings program and our Glean for the City program.

Holiday Helpings

During the holidays (November and December), Bread for the City’s Food Pantries offer each of our clients a complete holiday meal, including a turkey and all the trimmings.  This year, we want to provide Holiday Helpings to more than 9,000 families.

We need extra help to make this happen, and can take small groups of 3-5 volunteers each weekday afternoon (excluding Fridays) during November and December. These volunteers help package the meals, sort and organize donations.  We do not have volunteer opportunities on Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve or Day.

To sign up, please email Volunteer Coordinator Anna Tahtamouni at atahtamouni@breadforthecity.org.

Glean for the City

During the late spring, summer and fall, Bread for the City sends self-organized groups of volunteers out to farms outside of the District, in both Maryland and Virginia, to glean extra produce for our food pantry.  These groups provide their own transportation to the farms, work for 2-3 hours and can collect as much as 1,800 lbs of supplemental (and free) produce for our clients.  Gleaning trips usually happen on Saturdays.  If you are interested in organizing a gleaning trip, please contact Megan Cairns at gleaning@breadforthecity.org for more information.