Last year our volunteers donated nearly 17,000 hours of time! Volunteers help prepare and serve the daily meal and keep the dining room tidy and clean. They also pick up donations around the tri-state, hold food drives, and run events that raise funds and spread the word about Our Daily Bread.
Perhaps you have an idea for a program or event? We welcome your energy and enthusiasm!
Soup Kitchen volunteer opportunities include: assisting in preparing and serving meals (Mon – Fri 8:00AM to Noon); Food pick-up and delivery (van or truck needed sometimes); and/or organizing canned food drives.
Use the form below to contact Kathy Schickel, Director of Operations.
Due to COVID-19 Our Daily Bread has re-assessed multiple times to make changes to protect the safety of our guests, volunteers and other staff. Below are frequently asked questions to help guide you in your decisions on whether to return to volunteering at Our Daily Bread.
Things look very different, but our heart is the same: we feed people, and we do it with dignity.
· Most significantly, our dining room has very limited capacity, and guests have the option to come inside or pick up meals, snack bags, and drinks at a to-go window.
· Volunteers in the kitchen dish up and bag the to-go meals which are served hot. We provide double the amount of food we used to put on the plate so that guests do not need to come through line more than once. Guests also receive “snack bags” with sandwiches, fruit and treats to eat later in the day. Volunteers assemble these bags every day.
· Our daily meal numbers are much higher now. They fluctuate based on the time of year, with fewer in the winter and more in the spring, summer and fall.
· We have increased our service hours. Volunteer shifts now begin promptly at 8:00 AM and last until noon. Volunteers begin boxing lunches at 8:10 and we start serving at 8:30 to help our guests move quickly through line.
· We’ve increased our attention to cleanliness. All volunteers must wear gloves and wash their hands frequently.
We understand that many volunteers have preferences of how they like to spend their volunteer time. While we try to respect these preferences when possible, there are certain tasks that need to be completed each day if we are to successfully serve our guests. We request that volunteers prioritize the following tasks before moving on to the other jobs (such as cooking) that they prefer.
· Dishing food on the serving line.
· Packaging meals and transporting them to the front door.
· Preparing bags with forks and napkins for service.
· Wrapping pastries.
· Constructing snack/weekend bags.
Yes. Due to the vulnerability of the population we serve, many of whom have underlying health conditions and an inability to quarantine when sick, we are requiring all volunteers to be vaccinated.
All interactions contain an element of risk, but we do all we can to lessen exposure. Potential volunteers must weigh their risk factors (age, general health, vulnerability of others in their households, vaccination status, etc.) and make the personal decision if they feel comfortable volunteering.
· All staff and volunteers are required to wear masks in the building (we can provide you a mask if you do not have one).
· We practice 6-foot social distancing whenever possible.
· Volunteers now enter the building through our back door on Goose Alley to prevent having to walk through a crowd of guests at the front door.
Direct contact with guests is limited to Kitchen Expeditors and professionals from Addiction Services Council. Most volunteers will not engage directly with the public.
We no longer have sit-down volunteer activities. If you volunteer, you will need to be able to stand and do moderate physical labor for 4 hours with limited opportunities for a break.
In order to minimize the number of people in our building and limit COVID exposure, we are asking all volunteers to commit to at least one or two days per week.
8:00 AM – Noon, Monday – Friday
There are many ways to stay involved with Our Daily Bread and our mission. Opportunities vary as we adapt and change – please click here for the latest updates.
Please contact Kathy at Kathy@ourdailybread.us to discuss options.
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