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Volunteer Handbook  
 (.PDF File)

Volunteers bring their hearts and their hands to their work at Second Harvest. And their work is vital to our common mission of ending hunger in Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas. Over 200 volunteers give more than 7,500 hours of their time. We accomplish so much because of their hard work and dedication.

Here are volunteer opportunities we have: 

Harvest House: Harvest House is our on-site food pantry that distributes perishable items to over 300 low-income families per week. There are many aspects of Harvest House in which you can be involved. Such tasks include stocking and cleaning Harvest House or lending a helping hand on Thursday afternoons when the pantry is stocked or Fridays when it is open to the   public. 

Harvest Basket: We are always in need of volunteers to assemble our  Harvest Baskets for churches in our area. These churches do not have the means to provide food to children, seniors and families in need, and our  Harvest Baskets provide two to three weeks of needed food to these individuals.  

Backpack Buddies: This program was designed to provide food to school children who may be at risk of going hungry over the weekend. The backpacks are assembled with single-serving, non-refrigerated items and are handed to the children on Friday afternoons. Volunteers are needed to help sort and pack the backpacks. 

CSFP Boxes: Every month, volunteers are needed to assemble boxes with nutritious, USDA commodity foods for people 60 years of age or older. An estimated 400 boxes will be sent out each month from Second Harvest. We also need volunteers to deliver these boxes to shut-ins. 

Warehouse: There is always work to be done in our warehouse, which includes sorting and weighing food donations, boxing bulk items and assembling frozen food bags. 

Office: Our office work includes filing, preparing bulk mailings and assisting our staff in many other ways. 

Special Events and Fundraisers: Each year, we have numerous special events and
fundraisers that require may volunteers. Any extra help is greatly appreciated. 

Team-Building Opportunities: Are you looking for a team building exercise for your
employees or members of an organization? Consider Second Harvest. We have several opportunities for groups to learn great team-building skills and, in the process, help to end hunger in their community.  

Just let us know how you would like to help! Our goal is to make your volunteer experience a fun and rewarding way for you to help us end hunger.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider