Volunteer
Happy Volunteer Appreciation Month! Our volunteers are the heart of the Westchester Food Pantry, offering their time, energy, and compassion to ensure that no one in the community goes hungry. Thanks so much to each and every one of our volunteers. Your dedication is seen and appreciated. Together, we make a difference!
We need your help!
Sign ups are open! We need volunteers for all roles, especially heavy lifters for the Greater Chicago Food Depository receiving crew. New volunteers are always welcome, as well as volunteers who need to complete service hours.
Food rescue volunteers needed!
What is food rescue?
Each year, 40% of the food we provide to our neighbors in need comes from food reclamation. This is food that is no longer sell-able, but still perfectly edible. Food reclamation keeps good food out of landfills and gets it to the vulnerable people in our communities who need it the most!
How does it work?
On their designated week, volunteers go to their assigned store to pick up food and deliver it to the Pantry. For example: Volunteer Vivian goes to Store A on the first Wednesday of each month. This commitment is once a month for a full year. In less than 24 hours spread over a year, you could save tons of food from landfills and get it to our neighbors in need.
What are the requirements?
- Food pick-up must be done between 11am-1pm on the Wednesdays, and between 10:30-11am on the Mondays.
- Be able to lift boxes weighing up to 30 pounds.
- Have a larger vehicle (minivan, SUV, station wagon).
Interested? Email us at Info@Westchesterfoodpantry.
Become a Volunteer and Make an Impact in Our Community!
Volunteering at the Westchester Food Pantry can be a very rewarding experience. You will make new friends, be part of a team, and improve your community by assisting your neighbors in need.
There is an assortment of volunteering positions at the Pantry, which can be explored further below. It is essential that volunteers possess the ability to work amiably with a diverse clientele in a non-judgmental and compassionate manner. Any personal information of the clients is kept confidential, and every individual at the Pantry is treated with the utmost respect and dignity.
Please contact the Westchester Food Pantry, if you have any questions.
Seasonal Volunteer Opportunity
Yard Sale Extravaganza 2025
It’s time for the Westchester Food Pantry’s fifth annual Yard Sale Extravaganza! This profitable event has many volunteer opportunities setting up the sale, working at the sale and cleaning up when it’s all done.
The Yard Sale Extravaganza is one of our biggest fundraisers, and over 150 volunteers are needed to make it happen. Can you help? There are lots of days and times available.
Seasonal Volunteer Opportunity
Scouting for Food 2025 - October 18
Each year, Troop 73, Pack 73 and the Westchester Community Church do an amazing job coordinating and executing a town-wide food drive. These donations are crucial to help our pantry make it through the winter months. Please join us as we receive, sort and shelve the donations. Some heavy lifters are needed here, but not all. Volunteers must be age 10 or older.
Seasonal Volunteer Opportunity
Troop/Pack 39 Scouting for Food Drive - June 7
NEW DATE! This food drive has been moved from May 3 to June 7. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Troop and Pack 39 is holding a Scouting for Food Drive for the Pantry! We will meet at the Pantry to receive, sort and shelve the donations. Some heavy lifters are needed here, but not all. Volunteers must be age 10 or older.
Wear comfortable clothing and bring your own water bottle. Thank you!
Seasonal Volunteer Opportunity
Thanksgiving Fundraising at the Westchester Jewel in November
The Westchester Food Pantry will be collecting cash donations inside the Westchester Jewel-Osco, 2128 S. Mannheim Road, Westchester, IL. All money goes towards the purchase of frozen turkeys and side dishes for our Thanksgiving food baskets. In 2024, we raised over $4,500 doing this–it was a HUGE help for the Pantry and allowed us to serve a lot of families.
The amount of money and donations we collect directly correlates to how many volunteer hours we spend at Jewel. More volunteer shifts filled = more money for our Thanksgiving baskets. When you sign up, please include your email address so we can send you specific instructions prior to your shift. Thanks so much for your help! Happy Thanksgiving!
Please note: children ages 5-11 are welcome to volunteer WITH a parent or guardian. Youth ages 12+ can volunteer with a parent/guardian’s permission. Also, this activity is INSIDE the building, so don’t worry about the weather when deciding whether or not to volunteer!
Seasonal Volunteer Opportunity
Souper Bowl '24 Event Assistance- Feb 1
On Saturday, February 1, 2025, the Westchester Food Pantry will host its sixth annual “Souper Bowl” fundraiser. This delicious tasting event will feature 16 local chefs and their best soups, along with desserts, beverages, raffles and entertainment. This family-friendly event has become a signature fundraiser for the Westchester Food Pantry, and we need a bunch of volunteers!
Because many of these volunteer roles will include handling money and food, we need adults to fill them. Roles that can be filled by teenagers are noted- unfortunately, we can’t accommodate any volunteers under the age of 14 at this event. Thank you so much for understanding!
PLEASE NOTE: Volunteers can buy half-price tickets if you’d like to stay for the event. Tickets can be purchased through the Westchester Food Pantry website or during the Pantry’s open hours. Please email with any questions.
Year-Round Volunteer Opportunities
For many of the below volunteering opportunities, the Pantry is using Sign Up Genius.
Receiving Crew
The 1st and 3rd Fridays of every month, typically between 8am – 10am. This crew receives our orders from the GCFD. It involves taking heavy boxes of cans, meat and produce from GCFD pallets into the pantry. These volunteers must have the ability to lift and move heavy items. It also involves inventorying the food received, which there is minimal heavy lifting. You can volunteer for either task. Please provide your phone number if you are signing up for this slot, as sometimes the truck may be early or delayed. And, we will let you know when it arrives.
Food Sorting, Shelving & Setup
Every Wednesday and Friday afternoon from 11:30-2pm. This crew receives food reclamation, sorts, puts everything away, packs bags of food for client services, restocks shelves, and sets up and organizes client choice items. A few folks who can do heavy lifting are needed for this shift, but otherwise all ability levels are fine.
Client Services
Every Wednesday from 4-7:30pm and every Saturday from 8:30am-12 noon. This crew helps the clients “shop” for a variety of items; this is called “client choice”. Some of their packaged & canned groceries have previously been bagged, and just need to be loaded into shopping carts. Once the client is ready, this crew brings their groceries outside in the shopping carts and loads them into client vehicles. A few folks who can do heavy lifting are needed for this shift. Otherwise, all ability levels are fine.
Registration
Parking Lot Attendants
Every Wednesday from 3:00-6:00pm and every Saturday from 8:00-11:00am. Our Pantry continues to get busier and busier each week and two adult volunteers are needed to help manage the parking lot, direct the flow of traffic, and assist with clients.
Food Reclamation
During the week, primarily Wednesdays and Fridays from approximately 11:00 am – 1:00 pm, volunteers go to predetermined stores to pick up food that is no longer sellable for a variety of reasons, but still perfectly fine to eat. We have a huge need for food reclamation volunteers. Our pantry gets a great deal of food through these food reclamation efforts, which is given to our clients during our twice a week distributions. You will need a larger, reliable vehicle and be able to lift/load up to 20 pounds. We only ask our volunteers to commit to one reclamation day of the same week each month. Please provide the model of your vehicle when contacting the pantry.
Fundraisers
Throughout the year, the Pantry gets involved with fundraisers that raise much needed funds in order to serve our clients. These events include the Souper Bowl (beginning of February), Yard Sale Extravaganza (beginning of March to the beginning of June), Fourth of July Parade, Westchester Fun Fest (August), Greater Chicago Food Depository Hunger Walk (September), and Jewel Holiday Bucks (November). In order for these fundraisers to be successful, we need lots of motivated volunteers.
Outreach
Everyone we meet is a potential client, volunteer or donor which is why outreach events are so important! We want to meet everyone, because everyone has a place at the Pantry. We need volunteers who are confident talking about the Pantry – how to get food, how to volunteer and how everyone can get involved. The Pantry participates in numerous outreach events throughout the year.
