Looking to volunteer?
One hour. About five people. No committee.
An hour on a quiet weekday is the whole ask. About five people pack the round together, and then you go home. If you are the one who has to find those five every week, there is a page for your manager further down.
Does this sound like you?
Two people read this page. One can give an hour, the other has to find five.
I can do an hour
Tuesday is free. I am not joining a committee and I do not want a role.
I run the roster
I am texting people who have stopped turning up. The pack still needs five, and I find that out on the day.
Five people. One hour.
That is the whole commitment, and it is deliberately small.
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1
A time and a place
A hall on a quiet weekday, near where you already are.
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2
About five people pack
An hour of sorting and packing. No experience needed.
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3
Done
You go home. Nobody puts you on a committee.
For whoever runs it: who said yes, who said no, and who has stopped turning up. Not a group chat.
What an hour actually looks like
The unit, and why it is not bigger.
Ask to be put on the roster
Tell the food bank, club, village or church that pointed you at this page that you can do an hour. They add you to the roster and send you an invitation. If you are the one who runs the roster, the one page below is written for your manager.
Ask to be put on the rosterYour login details come with the invitation.
One page for the manager
What it is
Packing for about an hour, with about five people, and a roster that is not a group chat. The year on one screen, with the current month marked, and many weeks editable at once.
What it is not
Not a committee. Not a weekly bag to sell. Not a warehouse system. Not a trial you start from this page, and not a named host we have not asked.
Cost
The volunteer pays nothing. On a host round, households pay for their own bags. There is no host licence and no host fee.
Risk
People stop turning up, and a roster cannot make them come back. If the week is short of volunteers, it is postponed before the fruit and veg order is placed and before anyone is charged.
Who is liable
Volunteer names and availability are visible to the community manager only, never on a public page. Insurance and food safety are backed by the distributor and aggregator of fruit and veg at the wholesale level.
Decide
Whether you can ask your people for an hour a week. Software has a trial, and a manager starts that from the food bank or host page rather than here.
Whoever handed you this page cannot commit the organisation, and does not claim to.
Questions
Questions volunteers sometimes ask.
I only have an hour. Is that enough?
Yes. About five people, about an hour. You are not joining a committee.
Do I have to create an account?
You will be provided with login details when you are invited to volunteer.
What if I cannot come one week?
Sign in online as soon as you can and let the others know you cannot make it that day.
I run the roster. Is this another app?
It is how you see who said yes, rather than a group chat. The software does come with a trial, and a manager starts that from the food bank or host page rather than from here.
Will my name be on a public page?
No. Only the community manager sees the list of volunteers and when they are available.
Is this unpaid volunteer work?
Yes. The volunteer work goes towards funds for the organisation you are volunteering for. It is fairly easy work compared to many other fundraising efforts, as the systems and process are all documented and standardised, with easy training to go through.
What if we cannot field volunteers one week?
Five people, one hour, is the unit. If the week is short of volunteers, it is postponed before the fruit and veg order is placed and before anyone is charged.