VOLUNTEERING

Thanks so much for your interest in helping us tackle food poverty and food waste in our community. We’re not currently accepting applications, but do check back in soon.


For other volunteering opportunities, please check with your local council. For example, we recommend the wonderful hub at Volunteer Centre Hackney, linked here: https://vchackney.org/

Wishing you all the best!

When?
Sundays
Tuesdays

Time Commitment?
10:30am – 2:30pm (Sundays)
5:00pm – 8:30pm (Tuesdays)

(Half shifts available if needed.)

What it entails…
You’ll be part of a team of about four people in this role that is in the thick of the soup kitchen action. The kitchen team works together to create a dish with the donated ingredients on hand. You don’t need any cooking experience – those who are more confident cooks take the lead. As long as you’re happy peeling and chopping, you’re good to go! 

Your role would be:

  • Arrive at church at the scheduled time (10:30am on Sundays, Tuesdays at 5pm) to the session opening to begin preparing the food.

  • You’d be part of the team, preparing food and cooking in the main kitchen. This includes cooking the main meal.

  • We also have a smaller 2nd kitchen (we call the hatch) at the front of the church where we portion up the desserts, cut up bread, and get the takeaway bags ready.

  • During the session you’ll either be helping with serving food, or making meals for the next session.

  • Towards the end of the session, you’ll be tidying up the kitchen/hatch and doing some basic cleaning. You’ll usually be able to leave as soon as the session closes, but there might sometimes be a bit more clearing up to do.

When?
Sundays
Tuesdays

Time Commitment?
10:30am – 2:30pm (Sundays)
5:00pm – 8:30pm (Tuesdays)

(Half Shifts available if needed)

What it entails…

You’ll be part of a team of people running the food bank during the sessions. You’ll either be working out the front with guests taking their orders, working in the food bank stocking the shelves, packing/making food parcels, or shuttling bags of groceries to and fro. If you would rather be in contact with fewer people, we can make sure you only work in the food bank. 

Between members of the team, your role would be:

  • Checking stock levels are ready to go for the shift.

  • Preparing the order form ready for the beginning of the session.

  • Helping to manage the queue of guests.

  • Engaging with guests to take their orders.

  • Packing food parcels and taking them to the guests.

When?
Sundays
Tuesdays

Time Commitment?
Depends how fast a cook you are!

What it entails…
Nearly all of our puddings are made off site and then brought to the church on a Tuesday afternoon/evening or Saturday afternoon/Sunday morning. We usually try and offer a choice, and need about 80 portions in total. Different volunteers communicate with each other to decide who is making what and how many portions they can manage. We buy basic dry ingredients in bulk that we can provide you with (mostly flour and sugar) and can reimburse expenses for other ingredients. We also sometimes have surplus fresh fruit, so you may get a challenge! The guests love their puddings (especially Fruit Crumble and Custard) but aren’t that fussy really, so it’s a good chance to try out recipes and be inventive. 

You role would be:

  • To communicate with other volunteers about what you’re making and how much.

  • To deliver food to church prior to the session.

How to apply

Applying is really simple. Just fill in the form (Click blue ‘Volunteer Application Form’ button below) and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. We ask for a referee (who can be anybody that has known you for at least a year), and you can get involved with as many roles as you wish. Once your reference has been returned, you’ll be invited to attend an induction. After which we’ll explain how the rota and everything works.

If you need any further information or help with applying, please email volunteering@stjohnskitchen.org.uk

Any questions?

If you’ve got any questions about any of the roles, or want to know anything more, feel free to get in touch!

volunteering@stjohnskitchen.org.uk