Volunteer

Volunteers are the heart of the GVFB!

  • Individual Applications – CLOSED

The next application cycle opens on May 13th to 24th. A link to apply will become available the day of.

  • Group Applications* – OPEN YEAR-ROUND

*Group volunteers refer to parties of 4 or more people. 

Why Volunteer

Volunteering with the GVFB is an impactful way to provide healthy food to those in need. Thanks to our generous volunteers, we can support 16,000 clients directly and 138 Community Agency Partners – each month! Last year our volunteers donated 50,000 hours of their time – the equivalent of about 25 full-time staff.

Some benefits of volunteering:

  • Help Others – provide your time and energy to help those in need.
  • Meet New People – become part of a community and form new friendships.
  • Get Active – improve your own physical and mental health.
  • Learn New Skills –  volunteering provides an opportunity to learn new skills and can advance your career
  • Feel Good About Yourself – volunteering brings fulfilment to your life. Build confidence while having fun!

Health and Safety

The health and safety of our volunteers, clients and staff are of the greatest importance to us.

We have taken the following precautions to ensure that everyone feels comfortable:

  • Masks and gloves are optional. The GVFB will continue to provide PPE for volunteer use.
  • Provide a volunteer briefing at the beginning of each shift that outlines all health and safety procedures.
  • Frequent sanitization of high-touch areas, such as the plexiglass at our distribution sites.
  • Following the provincial guidelines, we are no longer requiring our volunteers to be fully vaccinated.

Volunteer Requirements

Our volunteer requirements vary amongst roles. Our general requirements are as follows:

Volunteer Opportunities

Warehouse

Volunteering at the GVFB Warehouse is a dynamic opportunity to support our operations department. Duties can include assembling nutrition program packs, date and quality checking donations, building orders, and assisting with cleaning and maintenance.

Food Distribution

Volunteers will assist our staff with direct food distribution across our two sites: Vancouver and Burnaby. Volunteering at our distribution locations provides oneonone interactions with food bank clients who are in need of weekly food support.

Agencies Support

Our Vancouver and Burnaby Agencies markets provide weekly pick-up opportunities for approximately 130+ Community Agencies. This include housing agencies, neighbourhood houses, after-school programs, transition houses, First Nations centres, and many other organizations.  

Community Engagement

Throughout the year we hold community events to promote the GVFB, educate the public about what we do and generate donations. Events range from golf tournaments and grocery campaigns to festivals and seasonal events like Fore for Food 

Pick Your Volunteer Type

Group Volunteers

Looking for a way for your team to give back to the community? Sign up as group volunteers.

Individual Volunteer

Ready to donate your time to GVFB? Learn more to see what roles are available for you.

Volunteer Additional Resources

The following resources provide important information for our Individual and Group Volunteers:

Frequently Asked Questions

For more resources, please log in to your Better Impact account.

All volunteers must complete the application process and sign up for shifts through our volunteer portal (My Impact). We cannot accommodate drop-in volunteers.

Individual Volunteers:

Our individual volunteer opportunities are based on operational needs. Visit the Individual Volunteer page to see when our next round of applications opens.

 

Group Volunteers:

To explore the group schedule, start by submitting the Group Volunteering Application form. Please contact [email protected] to inquire about specific dates and opportunities.

The minimum age to volunteer at the GVFB is 15 years old. Please note there are different age restrictions depending on the role. 

  • Burnaby Warehouse – minimum 15 years. 
  • Burnaby Program Pack – minimum 15 years. 
  • Agencies Restocking – minimum 16 years. 
  • Food Distribution – minimum 18 years. 
  • Community Events – dependent on the event & venue. 

All individual volunteers are required to complete the Criminal Record Check form. This is a free process offered through the GVFB. Once received, this form will be sent by the GVFB to the Ministry of British Columbia to be reviewed and processed.

Corporate volunteers are not required to complete Criminal Record Checks. 

If you receive a fingerprints request letter, you will need to make an appointment at your local RCMP detachment. The letter means the BC Ministry requires confirmation of your identity as there could be someone with a similar name and/or date of birth who is flagged in their system. We will reimburse the cost associated with obtaining fingerprints. Please send us an email with the receipt to [email protected] to receive your reimbursement.

We will only accept group applications that have a minimum of 4 volunteers. Maximum group capacities are dependent on the type of opportunity and location.

  • Burnaby Warehouse Support – maximum 5 volunteers
  • Burnaby Program Pack – maximum 5 volunteers
  • Burnaby Distribution – maximum 7 volunteers
  • Vancouver Distribution – maximum 10 volunteers
Individuals cannot simultaneously have an active volunteer and an active client account. If you wish to volunteer with us in future, we kindly ask that 12 months have passed since your last GVFB client visit. 

Unfortunately, we are not able to accommodate these requests.

We require volunteers to arrive on time and stay for the entire shift to avoid disrupting the operational flow of our orientation, health and safety briefing and volunteer work.

The health and safety of our staff, volunteers, clients, and community partners are very important to us. To prevent the spread of communicable disease, we ask volunteers to cancel their shifts when experiencing illness.

Volunteers are not insured by WorkSafeBC should an injury occur at one of our volunteer sites.

We want to recognize and support our volunteers. Once you have completed 80 hours of volunteering you can request a reference letter at [email protected].

We do not provide:

  • verbal references,
  • external reference forms (exceptions are high school forms and verifications for RCMP and university applications),
  • reference letters to anyone who has not volunteered at the GVFB for 12 months or longer.

Yes! Our 4 main volunteer sites are accessible by transit. Parking availability varies among our locations, we suggest volunteers commute via transit when possible.

GVFB Warehouse, Burnaby Distribution and Head Office are located at 8345 Winston Street, Burnaby.

Production Street Skytrain, 10-minute walk.

Vancouver Distribution Site is located at 3454 Lougheed HWY, Vancouver.

Rupert Skytrain Station, 6-minute walk.

Vancouver Community Market is located at 1405 Thornton Street, Vancouver.

Main Street – Science World Skytrain station, 10-minute walk.

New Westminster Distribution Site is located at 613 Queens Avenue, New Westminster.

New Westminster Skytrain station, 15-minute walk.

If you have not volunteered/signed up for a shift within 12 months your profile will be archived.

To reactivate your account, please contact [email protected].

 For privacy purposes, we have restrictions regarding media of any kind. Advanced notice must be provided if you wish to take any content of your volunteer experience. If you are intending to take photos or videos of your volunteer experience, please let us know. Attached is our Media Consent and Release form.

Want to get in touch with our Volunteer department?