Forty thousand! That’s the number of volunteers who have walked through our doors and helped sort produce, pack one-pound bags of rice, or staff one of our Produce Pop-Ups. Volunteers are not just a way for us to involve the community in our mission to end hunger in San Francisco and Marin – they are intrinsic to our entire operation.
We’ve done the math, and 40,000 volunteer working shifts in our warehouses and out in the community put in as many hours as 62 full-time employees. To put it simply, we couldn’t accomplish all that we do without the support of our amazing volunteers.
Carly Levin is a Food Bank board member and the executive director of JP Morgan Chase & Co. She and other employees have been among our biggest supporters, volunteering dozens of hours in our warehouse, and making generous donations – including a $25,000 match for our first-ever volunteer-only matching gift challenge in April. Their support is essential for keeping many of our vital programs up and running.
“There is no better way to spend the day,”says Levin, who recently volunteered at a food pantry. “Participants are filled with gratitude for the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables they receive to feed their families. And our job as volunteers is to make them feel welcome.”
In April, we hosted a special celebration in our San Francisco warehouse to mark Volunteer Appreciation Week. We invited some of our most ardent supporters for a day of fun, food and carnival games as a way to show our gratitude. Click here to view our photo album from Volunteer Fest 2018.
We distribute 48 million pounds of food to nearly a quarter of a million people every year and volunteers are essential to this work. Thank you, volunteers – for your dedication and enthusiasm for helping our community.
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