Volunteering your time is a rewarding way to contribute to the crucial work of our local hunger relief organizations. Our Community Food Partners—PORCH, TABLE, OCIM, and IFC—all rely on volunteers to help collect, sort, bag, and deliver the thousands of pounds of food needed to feed the children and families served by their programs. It takes hundreds of volunteers to meet the daily, weekly, and monthly commitments of these organizations to provide hunger relief in our community. Weaver Street Market encourages our owners and shoppers to volunteer. Most likely, you’ll see old friends and make new ones!
Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities
TABLE, Carrboro, Chapel Hill
TABLE depends on volunteers to prepare, pack, and deliver bags to kids every week, as well as to collect food, plan, and volunteer at special events, assist with PR, and much more. Learn more on their website at https://www.tablenc.org/community-member or contact TABLE at tablenc@gmail.com.
Currently, their volunteer shifts are as follows:
SnackChef
- Tuesdays, 2:30-4:30 PM, 3:15-5:30 PM
- Wednesdays, 2-4 PM
- Thursdays, 1:30-3:30 PM; 5:15-7:15 PM
Food Sorts for Backpacks
- Mondays. 3:30-5:30 PM (kids shift); 6-8 PM
- Tuesdays, 4:30-6 PM; 6-8 PM
- Wednesdays, 4:30-5:30 PM (kids shift), 6-8 PM
- Thursdays, 9 AM-12 PM (fresh food)
Backpack Delivery
- Thursdays, 10:30-11:30 AM, 11 AM-12 PM, 2-4 PM, 2:30-3:30 PM
PORCH, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough
Monthly Weaver Street Produce Sort, Redeye in Hillsborough
We need volunteers to help us sort, bag, and box the fresh produce donated to PORCH through the Round Up! campaign. The volunteers meet on a Tuesday each month from 4:30 to 6 PM at the Redeye warehouse space at 505 Eno Street, Hillsborough. Please contact Debbie Horwitz of PORCH (debbie@porchcommunities.org) for information and dates.
Neighborhood Coordinator, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough
The neighborhood coordinator is the point person in a neighborhood for monthly food drives. The coordinator picks up donations from neighborhood porches and delivers them to the food sort. The time commitment is four hours per month. Learn more at https://chapelhill.porchcommunities.org/volunteer/.
Orange Congregations in Mission, Hillsborough
OCIM needs volunteers for its food pantry and its Meals on Wheels program. OCIM facilities are located at 300 Millstone Drive, Hillsborough. For additional information, contact Kay at ocimsrm@embarqmail.com.
The current volunteer shifts are as follows:
Meals on Wheels Drivers
- Monday-Friday, pick up meals 10:30-11 AM, routes take about an hour. Volunteers use their own cars.
Substitutes for Food Pantry Shifts
- Monday-Friday, shifts are 9 AM-1 PM and 1-5 PM. Receive donations and pack orders for recipients.
Inter-Faith Council, Chapel Hill
IFC offers a number of volunteer opportunities. For a volunteer application or additional information, visit http://www.ifcweb.org/volunteer or contact the volunteer coordinator at 919-929-6380, x30.
Pantry Volunteers
- Stock, sort, and donate donations
- IFC especially needs volunteers who can lift heavier items
- There are three-hour shifts in the AM and PM
Drivers
- Pick up donations from grocery stores and bring to IFC’s locations
Piedmont Farm Tour (April)
Each year, over one hundred volunteers make the Piedmont Farm Tour possible by greeting visitors at farms and explaining the tour procedures. About two months before the tour (which is the fourth weekend in April), the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association puts out a call for volunteers, who can choose from the available farms. Farm Tour volunteers receive a free tee shirt and tour button to use on the other day of the tour. (They don’t receive the raffle coupon described above.) Learn more and sign up at https://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/ft-volunteer/.
