Sioux Falls Food Distribution - August 2020
Feeding South Dakota is currently working to serve more than twice as many families as usual who are facing food insecurity made more critical to the COVID-19 crisis. Help your neighbors in need today by volunteering to distribute boxes and bags of emergency food to those who need a little extra food assistance.
NOTE: This opportunity is NOT at the Feeding South Dakota warehouse on N. Westport Ave. - you will need to go to the current site of the Sioux Falls community food distributions located at the former Fareway Foods supermarket on W. 41st St., between S. Grange and West Avenues.
Key Responsibilities:
Volunteers will assist with a variety of tasks to help with the twice-weekly distribution of emergency food boxes to the public. The community food distributions are currently held from 1 pm to 7 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays.
We also need volunteers to help with the prep work on Mondays and Wednesdays to ensure the entire process is safe, friendly and no-contact.
Volunteer duties may include:
- Assisting Feeding South Dakota staff in unloading, sorting and packing perishable food items such as bread and produce into boxes and totes
- Directing traffic
- Registering guests receiving food using tablet computers
- Unloading pallets of food into shopping carts
- Greeting the public
- Pushing shopping carts from the building, unloading food into vehicles and ensuring a friendly farewell
Support/Training:
Wear comfortable clothing, your CDC-recommended cloth face covering or disposable mask and closed-toe/closed-heel shoes. Volunteers will be given instructions and training upon arrival and will have staff support and supervision throughout their shift.
Distribution volunteers working around traffic will be given additional safety gear to wear. Please arrive 10 minutes early to check in, sign our volunteer waiver form and have your temperature taken by one of our staff.
Qualifications:
- Ability to stand and walk for 2-3 hours at a time
- Ability to lift about 10 to 30 pounds
- Work will be both indoors and outdoors in summer weather. Please dress accordingly to be safe and wear sunscreen! Water and additional sunscreen will be available.
Age Requirements:
This position may be working in a facility alongside forklift traffic as well as outdoors in a parking lot around vehicle traffic. For safety reasons, all volunteers must be 11 years or older. Volunteers under 14 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.
Health/Safety:
At Feeding South Dakota, there is no higher priority than the safety of our volunteers and the people we serve. We strive to maintain clean facilities and follow best practices for food safety.
Due to COVID-19, we are taking extra precautions, including increased cleaning of surfaces throughout the day and emphasizing frequent handwashing, use of hand sanitizer and changing of gloves.
If you have been around anyone who has been sick or has been later diagnosed with COVID-19, have experienced any symptoms of illness in the last 14 days or are in a high-risk category, please stay home at this time. We will be happy to help schedule a future volunteer opportunity.
Reminder
We welcome you to volunteer with friends, family or co-workers. If you will be volunteering with others please be sure to respond to this opportunity using the "respond as a team" feature.
