Who Can Volunteer?

The Food Bank encourages all volunteers who meet the age qualifications.

San Diego Food Bank warehouse – Miramar  & North County warehouse – Vista Volunteers must be 16 years of age or older to volunteer independently. Volunteers aged 11-15 must be accompanied by an adult (18 or older). The adult/chaperone must be registered for the same shift.

Please note that age restrictions are required due to health and safety guidelines.

Volunteer Projects

Each shift at our Vista warehouse involves a variety of projects, which may include, but are not limited to:

• Inspecting and bagging fresh produce for immediate distribution.
• Inspecting, sorting, boxing, and labeling food donations.
• Assembling food packages for our Emergency Food Assistance Program and Food 4 Kids Backpack Program.

Volunteer tasks are predetermined by staff and are selected on an “as needed” basis. These are the regular shifts that are available each week: Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., Monday 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Online Registration and Check-in

Volunteers must sign up for a shift using our online registration system. When you arrive at the Food Bank for your volunteer shift, please check in at the front desk.

If you need the Food Bank to provide verification for the number of hours worked, please bring the associated paperwork with you for our staff to complete.

Registration for Individual Volunteers

If you are a first-time volunteer, you will be asked to create a login and password when you sign up for your first shift on our volunteer registration system. Please be sure to store your login information for future use. Once registered and logged in, select your shift, and a confirmation email will be sent back to you. For returning volunteers, simply log in, select a shift, and you will receive a confirmation email.

Groups of Less Than 5 Volunteers

If you have a group of less than five people, each volunteer must register as an individual. As long as you sign up for the same date and shift time, you will still be able to work together.

Groups of 5 or More Volunteers

Volunteering is a great team-building activity. We welcome businesses, organizations, community groups and more to volunteer at our warehouse in Vista.

For groups of 5 or more, please fill out our Group Volunteer Request Form below and a Food Bank staff member will help coordinate. Due to the high volume of requests, please allow at least 72 hours to receive a reply.

Guidelines for Children

Due to health and safety regulations, we have age restrictions in place for each warehouse.

San Diego Food Bank warehouse – Miramar  & North County warehouse – Vista Volunteers must be 16 years of age or older to volunteer independently. Volunteers aged 11-15 must be accompanied by an adult (18 or older). The adult/chaperone must be registered for the same shift.

Please note: We do offer educational, behind-the-scenes tours of both the San Diego Food Bank (Miramar) and North County Food Bank (Vista) to groups of children who are not old enough to volunteer. Click on the button below to request a tour.

Mandatory Volunteer Documents

Once volunteers are registered and have signed up for a shift, each volunteer MUST read our Policies and Procedures Document prior to arriving.

Click on the button below to view a PDF, and please read through it carefully.

Guidelines for Court-mandated Service Hours

The Food Bank accepts court mandated service hours, but ONLY misdemeanor offenses will be considered eligible, and additional documentation must be provided.

The Food Bank will verify the information while your application is being considered. Failure to provide any of the required information will result in immediate disqualification of your volunteer application.