Volunteering
with
Shared Harvest
Our Volunteers are a vital part of what we do here at Shared Harvest. In 2024 we had over 2,300 different volunteers join us, providing nearly 10,000 service hours! As Shared Harvest looks to grow our programs to better service our community, we are always looking for more help from people like you.
Volunteer Opportunities
Thank you for your interest in volunteering to help us battle hunger in our own communities. We have several different ways you can engage as a volunteer ranging from sorting and packing up donations to assisting with food distributions for our neighbors.
We have plenty of volunteer opportunities currently open and available. Please visit our VolunteerHub portal to register for any events that you’re interested in attending. Everyone that wants to attend must register online in order to volunteer with us.
Group Volunteering
If you are interested in bringing a group to come volunteer with us, we’d love to have you! Group reservations are ideal for 7+ individuals, otherwise we recommend looking into an available individual volunteer opportunity. We host groups ranging from businesses to community organizations. Our Group Reservations are hosted onsite in our Hunger Awareness Center in Fairfield, OH. The activities your group will be doing will be based on our needs at the time, so will likely change from visit to visit.
We have our available group reservations listed on our portal. After you’ve selected a time that works for you and your group, you can fill out the group request form and our Community Engagement Manager will reach out to work with you to finalize your reservation.
More Information on Volunteering
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How old do you have to be to volunteer?
We welcome anyone ages 10 and up to join us volunteering. No matter how old someone is, we do need them to register for the event on VolunteerHub.
Minors:
10-14 years old must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
15-17 years old may come unaccompanied with the signed consent of a legal parent or guardian. (This will be prompted in VolunteerHub when you sign up)
What will we be doing?
Most of our volunteer opportunities are either warehouse activities in our Hunger Awareness Center or distribution events both onsite in Fairfield and offsite across our service area. Warehouse activities include but are not limited to: sorting and packing donations, preparing senior boxes for distribution, and packing bags for the backpack program. The location of each distribution is always specified on the event when you go to sign up and will give you any further details you may need.
What do I wear?
Please dress comfortably and seasonally appropriate. Closed toed shoes are required for safety reasons. Avoid excessive jewelry or loose hanging strings. Wear sunscreen for outdoor activities.
Where do I park?
If you are coming to our location in Fairfield, there is parking available behind our Distribution Center next to our Hunger Awareness Center (our blue building). When you first get to our location, drive to the right of our first building to get to the Hunger Awareness Center.
Where do I go when I get there?
For warehouse events, come in the main doors of our Hunger Awareness Center. You can register at the kiosk in our Volunteer Room and when it’s time for the event to start you’ll be led to the warehouse and instructed on the activity you’re completing that day. For distributions (both onsite and offsite), come join us at the distribution site and report to the organizer so they can get you signed in and give you an assignment.
What do I bring?
We recommend bringing a reusable water bottle with you, but ask that you leave all other personal belongings in your car or you can leave them in the Volunteer Room if you’re coming to our warehouse. We do not allow outside food or beverages in our warehouse.
Do you have weekend or evening opportunities?
The majority of our events take place during a typical workday, between 9am and 3pm. Our offsite distributions occur a few times a month on Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings. We occasionally open an evening or weekend warehouse volunteer opportunity to the public, but they are not consistently scheduled.
Do you accept court-mandated community service volunteers?
Yes. Feel free to sign up for any of our available opportunities in the Hunger Awareness Center. One of our staff members can sign off on your hours at the end of each shift.
Shared Harvest Foodbank is unable to work with those who have charges/convictions related to violence or sexual assault.