Blue Ridge Area Food Bank (BRAFB)

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Blue Ridge Area Food Bank (BRAFB)

1207 Harris St, Charlottesville, Va 22903
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Our mission

To provide nourishing food to our neighbors in need through vibrant community partnerships and passionate public support.

Opportunities

Mobile Food Pantry: Guest Registration Volunteer

As a Guest Registration Volunteer, you will help by:

  • Greeting guests warmly as they arrive at the MFP site
  • Asking each household some information to determine if they have visited the distribution before or if they are a new guest
  • Recording guest information and the visit in the Food Bank’s client database (Link2Feed) on a BRAFB-provided tablet that is connected to a mi-fi (for internet access)
  • Posting the number of households on a sticky note on the driver’s windshield
  • Distributing flyers to guests, occasionally (i.e., Food Finder information, Inclement Weather Hotline, etc.)
  • Preparing the tablet and mi-fi for the next distribution (fully charged)

Volunteers are asked to interact with guests in a respectful, welcoming, and supportive way. A BRAFB tablet, mi-fi, and appropriate chargers and tablet case will be provided to the Guest Registration Volunteer and the volunteer will be responsible for securing and maintaining these items as long as they serve in this capacity.

 

Qualifications & Requirements:

  • Reliable self-transportation to the distribution site (the Food Bank does not reimburse for mileage)
  • Strong communication skills and customer service skills
  • Strong technology and tablet/computer skills
  • Experience with or interest in learning data entry
  • Access to phone and email
  • Access to internet at home
  • Good judgment and safety awareness
  • Ability to stand on your feet for 2 – 3 hours without breaks
  • Ability to work independently and collaboratively with a team
  • Good mobility required for bending and reaching, etc.

Time/Age Restrictions:

  • At least 18 years of age.
  • Must be onsite for approximately 3 hours at the MFP distribution once a month (occurs in the morning on the last Thursday of the month)
  • Additional time (approximately 2 hours per month) is needed in addition to the distribution, for reporting tasks
  • We ask for an initial commitment to serve in this capacity for 8-12 months, since consistency is important.

Dress Code:

  • Due to safety concerns all volunteers must wear close-toed shoes (no sandals or flip flops) and comfortable, appropriate clothes suitable for the weather of the day.

Training:

  • Food Bank staff and the MFP Site Coordinator will provide necessary training, supervision, and support.

 

  • Recurring
  • Adults
  • Individuals
  • In Person
  • On-site
  • Weekdays
About us

At the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank we are driven by our core beliefs that hunger is unacceptable; that everyone deserves access to enough food; that food sustains life and nourishes health; and that we are called to serve neighbors in need without judgment.We were founded in 1981. By the end of the first year, the Food Bank distributed 233,000 pounds of food to the hungry through 202 member agencies in 18 counties along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains. At that point in time, our work was considered a “major experiment in food banking” because of the rural nature of our service area.As the need for emergency food assistance grew in other areas of the Blue Ridge region, the Food Bank expanded and relocated to a new facility in Verona, VA, now the headquarters of the organization. Three other branches were established in Charlottesville, Winchester and Lynchburg between 1982 and 1985.Today we serve 25 counties and 8 cities on either side of the Blue Ridge through distribution centers in Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Winchester and our headquarters in Verona. We provide nutritious food to over 100,000 people each month through a far-reaching network of 200+ food pantries, soup kitchens, schools, churches and other nonprofit groups.We are members of Feeding America, a national organization supporting more than 200 food banks across the country, and the largest domestic hunger relief agency in the U.S. We are also members of the Federation of Virginia Food Banks, an association of the seven food banks in Virginia.