Starting May 4, volunteers are required to wear a mask to volunteer shifts. We will have a very limited supply of face masks available on site. We strongly encourage volunteers to bring their own face mask. Here is a great resource from the CDC regarding face mask guidelines and how to make your own.
Volunteer
We Depend on You
Thank you for your interest in volunteering at Second Harvest Heartland.
We are committed to protecting the health of our entire community while continuing to meet the critical need for meals that will increase due to the coronavirus. We need your help now more than ever, as we work to meet increased need.
What can you do?
- Please stay home if you’re sick. If you've experienced a fever, cough or shortness of breath in the last 7 days, please stay home to protect members of our community who are most vulnerable to illness, like those living with food insecurity.
- Please stay home if you’ve traveled outside of the state of MN in the last 14 days. Symptoms may appear up to 14 days after exposure.
- Please stay home if you have been in contact with anyone that has had symptoms or has been dianosed with COVID-19 or Influenza A or B in the last 7 days.
- If you are healthy and available to volunteer to help us pack the emergency food boxes and other high-demand items, schedule a shift below.
- Fund an emergency food box. We need your help to prepare our neighbors for this tough time.
Food Rescue Sorting Volunteers Needed
You can help reduce waste & feed our hungry neighbors! Every day, Second Harvest Heartland’s Retail Food Rescue fleet and trained food shelf partners collect thousands of pounds of produce, dairy, deli, meat, bakery and grocery items from retail partners. This donated product is distributed to agency partners including food shelves, meal programs and shelters to feed our hungry neighbors. During this crisis, we have trucks full of food that need sorting before going out to our agency partners. We are utilizing volunteers on this new pilot project to support our agencies as they adapt models and face added demand.
During a 4-hour shift, volunteers will sort products into good/bad and categorize by item, such as bulk produce, bagged salad, etc. This is a physical volunteer position that requires volunteers are able to twist and bend down, stand for several hours and lift 15-50 pounds (on average 20-30 pounds is most common). Volunteers will be working in a warehouse cooler setting which is 38 degrees, so dressing in layers is highly recommended. We have added extra safety measures such as social distancing and limited contact protocols; additional guidelines can be found at the link below. Open to age 18+.
Know that the environment can be cold and product does get messy-- but, it’s incredibly rewarding and as “hands on” as food rescue gets! Join our Food Rescue Fresh Force and help SHH ensure that the great food we’re collecting makes it over the COVID-19 hurdles and reaches families and community members who can eat it!
A wide variety of ways to give your time, including:
Skilled Volunteer Needs
Share your special skills with us to support hunger relief on an ongoing basis.
Sort and Repack Food
Every day, we need more than 200 volunteers to help us get food to people in need.
Volunteer Appreciation Video
Did you know?
Second Harvest Heartland is now a Service Enterprise! Second Harvest Heartland was recently certified through Points of Light with this national accreditation standard recognizing that we uphold best practices in how we engage volunteers throughout our organization.
Contact Us
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