Pantry Volunteer Needs

Thank you for your interest! You are welcome to sign up for a single shift, but we encourage a regular commitment.

For more information or to sign up, please contact Pantry Coordinators: Jane McIninch and Cheryl Barnes at 781-270-6625, or by email burlingtonpantry@gmail.com

Food Pantry office hours are Monday – Thursday from 9-2.

This food pantry services residents of Burlington, Massachusetts, and is funded solely by the non-profit group People Helping People, Inc.

If you are not available to volunteer during the week, this is a great opportunity. On the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month from 9-10:30 am volunteers date-check and sort donated food, and also stock the shelves. This is a good job for teens as well as working adults. During the holidays, additional days and times may be added. Attention to detail is very important.  PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL us if you would like to be added to the schedule for a Saturday Sort.  Occasionally, we have too many people, and it gets over-crowded.

Our Pet Pantry grew from support of Phinney’s Friends and the MSPCA. Every other Thursday families can add dog food, cat food and litter and various treats and toys to their orders. We are seeking one or two animal lovers who can help with this on every other Thursday from 10 AM to 12 PM. The job includes talking to families and helping them get what they need, as well as helping us keeping supplies organized. Need to be able to lift upto 30 pounds.

Now entering its 6th year, the PHP Lunch Program for Kids (LPK) provides free food for children, while on school break. Families are encouraged to pick up weekly at the Food Pantry. Weekly menus are developed based on the “My Plate” nutrition guidelines and include five of each: breakfasts, lunches, snacks and drinks. This program is run at the PHP Food Pantry and St. Mark’s Episcopal church at 10 St. Mark’s Rd.

The LPK Coordinator will be responsible for coordinating all aspects of the operation throughout the summer, this includes but is not limited to supervising volunteers, prepare weekly handouts, helping with food acquisition, and maintain records. The program will run June 22nd – September 2nd. While the work schedule is somewhat flexible, a typical week includes set up on Mondays, final set up and distribution on Tuesdays (~1pm-7pm), distribution on Wednesdays (11am-2pm) and Thursdays (10am-12pm), and placing food orders on Thursdays. A $200/week stipend is available.

Volunteers are needed to help distribute prepackaged food to families. This includes, but is not limited to signing in families, pulling together different pieces of an order, weighing the food, and bringing food out to families waiting in their cars. The program will run June 22nd – September 2nd. Volunteers typically work on teams in 2-3 hour shifts, depending on the day. We are open for distribution Tuesdays (3pm-7pm), Wednesdays (11am-2pm) and Thursdays (10am-12pm). You are welcome to sign up for a single shift, but we encourage a regular commitment.

Sign up to volunteer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080E4CA5A722A7FF2-summer

Volunteers are needed to help pack bags of food for the program, this includes but is not limited to pulling together ingredients needed for the weeks menu, packaging, labeling, and restoring the food according to requirements. The program will run June 22nd – September 2nd. Volunteers typically work on teams in 2-3 hour shifts, the bulk of the work will be done on Mondays (X-X) and the last minute preparations are done on Tuesdays (1pm-3pm). You are welcome to sign up for a single shift, but we encourage a regular commitment.

Sign up to volunteer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080E4CA5A722A7FF2-summer

A brand new program this year, PHP will be working with Burlington Public School to provide In-School bagged lunches and snacks for students in the summer school program at Memorial School. Menus are developed based on the “My Plate” nutrition guidelines. This program is located at Memorial Elementary School at 125 Winn St.

Volunteers are needed to help make and pack lunches and snacks for students Monday through Thursday mornings. The program will run July 6th – July 29th. Volunteers typically work in 3 hour shifts per day in teams of 4 people, under the leadership of a kitchen staff member. In the morning, the food is prepared and packaged; and after the food is delivered to the classrooms, the kitchen is cleaned and early preparations are made for the next day. You are welcome to sign up for a single shift, but we encourage a regular commitment.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f094ca9ad29abfb6-summer

On Wednesday afternoons volunteers are needed at the PHP Food Pantry (10 St. Mark’s Rd) to restock the shelves in preparation of Distribution on Thursdays. This includes pulling food forwards or stocking from storage areas. It can also include general organizing, cleaning and other tasks. Volunteers typically work in 1-2 hour shifts, between 2:15pm-4:00pm. This does require some heavy lifting and some training. For this job we strongly encourage a regular commitment.

On Thursdays from 10:00am-12:00 pm, volunteers are needed to deliver groceries to clients, who are unable to come to the pantry. Volunteers for this must be able to carry multiple bags of groceries up a flight of stairs. They also need to provide the transportation for deliveries. At the moment we are looking for additional drivers, who are willing to be on call in case we need extra drivers one day. Food is picked up from the PHP Food Pantry at 10 St. Mark’s Rd, all home deliveries are within Burlington.

The PHP Victory Garden was established in 2014 as part of a larger Burlington Community garden complex. In addition to the Victory Garden, the area also includes leased plots for families, who do not have growing space available at their residence and a K-5 school garden. Everything harvested from the Victory Garden is distributed to families through the People Helping People Food Pantry. The garden is located behhind Francis Wyman Elementary School at 41 Terrace Hall Ave.

We are looking for volunteers to help water, weed and harvest in the garden throughout the growing season (May to September). Don’t worry if you do not have any experience, you will be working under the guidance of our master gardener and garden manager. This is a great way to learn more about gardening. Most of our experienced volunteers work on their own schedule. There may also be opportunity to help out with other larger projects.