Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Second Harvest Foodbank!
Join the region’s largest hunger relief organization in working toward a resilient, food secure community. Whether you are looking for individual, youth, corporate, or group volunteer opportunities, your time can make a direct impact right here in our community. Last year, volunteers donated 37,332 hours of service, representing a value of more than $1.2 million—thank you!
Explore our volunteer opportunities below and become part of a community committed to ending hunger!
Ways to Volunteer
Volunteers help sort, label, and repack food into family-friendly portions for neighbors across our 16-county service area. Tasks may include sorting fresh produce, labelling frozen pizza, or dividing 1,000 pounds of potatoes into easy-to-use 5-pound bags. Our volunteer projects are safe, well-organized, and led by our friendly and knowledgeable staff. No experience necessary!
Unique, ongoing volunteer needs, such as data entry, language translation, delivery drivers, maintenance and supporting the donation desk.
Scheduling for corporate teams, community organizations, and other groups in our daily food sorting and repacking shifts.
Opportunities for students, families, and young community members ages 12-18 (with adult chaperones).
Frequently Asked Questions
Volunteers must be 12 years or older, and volunteers between the ages of 12-15 must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of their shift. For every 5 youth, 1 adult should plan to volunteer with the group. To ensure safety, this policy is not flexible.
Please cancel or update your volunteer reservation as early as possible. This gives other volunteers time to fill the spot and helps ensure we can get food out to our neighbors who are relying on us!
- If you are a group leader, please make group cancellations or adjustments in the volunteer portal at least 1 week before the shift. (Please note: Each group member must register and join the group 7 days before the event. Any unregistered spots at that point will be released and made available for public sign-up.)
- If you are an individual volunteer, please cancel your reservation in the volunteer portal at least 48 hours in advance.
Here’s how to cancel your shift using the Volunteer Portal:
-
- Log in to your account
- Click on your initials in the top right-hand corner
- Choose OPPORTUNITY RESPONSES from the list, you will be brought to your volunteer shift reservation(s)
- Under the OPTIONS column, Click on SELECT AN ACTION next to the shift you want to change
- Select UNREGISTER, then click YES to confirm
Download and print our Preparing for Your Volunteer Shift at Second Harvest Foodbank document to keep our reminders handy!
- Yes, we are happy to verify hours for court-ordered service as long as you use the check in/out kiosk during your volunteer shifts. You can learn more and sign up for a volunteer shift here.
- If you need hour verification, please reach out to volunteers@secondharvestsw.org after completing the hours needed. Please note that hour verifications can take up to 5 business days to complete.
Yes, most service hours can be verified by accessing your personal volunteer snapshot, which shows your volunteer role, hours history, and more. Hours submitted via the Volunteer Portal will not be approved if it is not for a remote volunteer role.
Access your hours by following these steps:
-
-
- Log in to your account
- Click on your initials in the top right-hand corner
- Choose MY PROFILE from the list
- Under your name, click on VOLUNTEER SNAPSHOT
- You can edit the time range by editing the START and END
- Click on GO – this will download a PDF of the snapshot to your browser
- You can save or print this PDF!
-
You can check to see if there are any last-minute openings and invite a friend to sign up by viewing shifts here! All volunteers must have a Second Harvest Volunteer Portal account and complete the required waiver.
Please note: Anyone under 18 will need to have a parent or guardian complete a youth waiver.
Our team loves deepening your volunteer experience through learning and reflection. We have limited capacity to offer mini presentations before or after your shift. Contact us at volunteers@secondharvestsw.org or give us a call at 608-216-7214 to learn more!
Community Voice Intern – The role will support administrative and outreach efforts related to community voice initiatives. Responsibilities include data entry, survey administration, materials development, and other duties as assigned.
Video Production & Graphic Design Intern – This role will create content for digital channels, assist with editing and producing videos, and design digital and print materials that support campaigns and organizational needs.
Partnerships & Community Impact Intern – This role will support communication and engagement efforts with our network of almost 300 partners across our 16-county service area. Responsibilities include working within Salesforce system (data entry and cleaning); researching and developing trends in food banking and food banking best practices content to be shared with our partners; supporting basic data analysis of partner surveys; and other administrative duties as assigned.
Applications due August 28, 2026. Apply via Handshake using the links in each internship description.
Resources
- We at Second Harvest encourage you to reflect on your experience and use the resources below to further your connection to the community:
- Educate yourself and others about food insecurity and food systems.
- Food insecurity is a complex issue that isn’t always easy to solve. We’ve linked some resources to help you learn more and reflect on the ways our communities can tackle hunger:
- Support community through other pathways to service:
-
- Second Harvest recognizes that the opportunity to volunteer is not available to everyone in our community. We also thank those that choose to help end food insecurity by means of community organizing, advocacy, philanthropy, voting, and self-education.
Explore our library of easy-to-follow handouts and videos designed to help you get the most out of the SHF volunteer portal. The portal is your go-to place for finding volunteer opportunities, signing up to help, and tracking your involvement as anGroup volunteering offers corporate teams, community organizations, and other groups a meaningful way to give back together. SHF volunteer.
- How To Schedule & Cancel an Individual Volunteer Shift (Video)
- How To Schedule a Group Volunteer Shift (Step-By-Step Instructions & Video)
- How To Schedule a Youth Group Volunteer Shift (Step-By-Step Instructions & Video)
- How to Manage Your Group (Step-By-Step Instructions & Video)
Sign Up for a Volunteer Orientation & Tour
New or prospective volunteers are invited to attend!
Connect With Us!
Still have questions or unsure where to start? Contact Brie McNett, our Volunteer Services Coordinator, or sign up for a volunteer orientation and tour!
Brie McNett
she/her/hers
Volunteer Services Coordinator