Community Meal Service @ the Community Kitchen and Pantry

Project Description 
Food Bank For New York City’s Community Kitchen distributes nutritious hot meals to hundreds of our neighbors each week. During Community Meal dining hours, guests come to the Community Kitchen to sit down and enjoy a hot meal. Volunteers are needed to welcome guests and serve these dinners in an elevated dining experience.

• Greeting guests as they arrive and ushering them to an open seat. 
• Serving guests their dinner by bringing their meal to them at their table, similar to a restaurant. 
• Bussing tables as guests leave to prepare them for the next guest.      
• We ask that you are flexible as the positions may vary or change based on needs for the day.                              

• Kitchen volunteers must wear clothing that completely covers the chest, shoulders, underarms, torso and knees.
• Volunteers are expected to present a neat appearance and dress according to the requirements of the volunteer shift. Please refrain from wearing see-through clothing. 
• Sturdy, closed-toe, closed-heel shoes are required for safety. Ballet flats, loafers, sandals, slide shoes, flip flops, Crocs, and high-heels are not allowed.  
• Volunteers will be provided with hair nets and aprons onsite. Please be prepared to tie long hair back.  
• Our staff reserves the right to turn away or reassign volunteers not dressed appropriately for their shift. 

• Volunteers should be comfortable engaging closely with the community members throughout their shift. Our Kitchen is a safe space. All staff, clients, and volunteers are expected to adhere to our Code of Conduct. 
• Volunteers should be comfortable handling a variety of food items including, but not limited to, meat, seafood and dairy products. If you require an adjusted role due to any religious, dietary or allergy concerns, please email [email protected] before registering for a shift to discuss accommodation. 
• This is an active position and volunteers should be prepared to stand for the duration of the shift. 
• Limited onsite storage is available for personal belongings, but we recommend traveling light and leaving valuables at home. Please bring a reusable water bottle to stay hydrated throughout the shift.   
• Please only register for this opportunity if you are sure you can attend for the full shift duration. Due to limited space in our volunteer area, we ask that you do not arrive more than 10 minutes prior to your scheduled start time. If anything changes with your availability, please cancel your registration on the Volunteer Portal at least 24 hours in advance.   
• See here for our full Volunteer Guidelines.
• All Volunteers are welcome to access Food Bank For New York City’s services, which you can find outlined on our website here. In order to ensure we have proper volunteer support, we ask that volunteers wishing to access our services do so before or after their scheduled volunteer time. Please note, some of Food Bank For New York City’s services may have eligibility requirements and therefore not all volunteers may be eligible to receive all services.