VOLUNTEERING

	Food Shuttle Drivers:  Drivers stop at local retailers, pick up ‘day old’ food to be donated and deliver it to local pantries, shelters, and soup kitchens.  Most of the food to be donated is picked up first thing in the morning although we do have a few opportunities for evening pick up.  We ask drivers to commit to at least two scheduled runs per month.  Some of the donations will be heavy.
	Food/Fund Drive Coordinators: The one thing that all of our successful food/fund drives have in common is that someone in the group agreed to take charge and coordinate the efforts of the group.  We have a brochure that we hope will help to make your drive a success.
	Food Haulers:  We often need help loading and unloading our trucks. The cases of food that need to be moved can weigh up to 40 pounds.  This work is usually done weekday mornings.  We receive large deliveries on Friday morning that we unload with rollers.
	Project Committee members work on a project for a period of time up to one year. Often, a committee will form to work on a special event or fundraiser.  We need the most help during our spring auction, where we ask local businesses to donate prizes.
	Youth Council members are students representing high schools in Albany and Rensselaer counties.  They are working to come up with more ways to involve students in hunger issues and develop projects for service that are safe, meaningful, and time appropriate. Check out the Youth Council page for more information.
	Committees of the Board:  These committees are long term and each committee has a different meeting schedule.  Currently the committees of the Board include: The Finance Committee, the Development Committee, and the Education Committee.
	Pantry Volunteers:  Most of our member pantries rely on volunteers to get the job done.  Volunteers sort and shelve food, pack grocery bags and serve food pantry visitors.  Most volunteers are asked to work for between two and three hours on a regularly scheduled basis. We have a few weekend opportunities but most of our volunteer needs are for Monday through Friday during the day.
	Office Helpers: Volunteers in our office answer phones, help with mailings and do general office work.
	Food Sorters: We receive a large volume of donations every year, especially around the holiday season.  Unfortunately, some of this food is either opened or expired and must be thrown away.  Pantries have limited dumpster space, so we sort through donations to make sure that pantries get only useable food items.