Volunteer – Free The Need

Give your time. Change lives.

Every volunteer starts with the desire to give their time to something meaningful.
The spirit of Free the Need volunteers creates a fun and joyous atmosphere that anyone can join into. Whether it is only for an hour or a lifelong pursuit to make your community a better place, all are welcome.

Meet some of our dedicated volunteers

Mallie

I have been part of this program my entire life and it has always been a time of fun and happiness for as long as I can remember. I have been aware from an early age that there was plenty of food to go around and this is still true today. People don’t have to go hungry if we take the surplus food that would otherwise go to waste, and give it directly to those in need. That’s what we do and I look forward to my time with Free the Need each week.

Elliott

I was raised growing our own food in rural area. People are very deliberate about eating everything from their garden and if you had to buy it, that was even more precious in some ways. It was eye opening to move to the city and see the industrial food system first hand, how much food was wasted and they even account for that ahead of time! What Free the Need does is so simple, yet so beautiful. There are no hoops, no red tape, just the simple act of collecting the surplus and giving it to those who can use it right away. It makes me feel like I’m making a difference both in the lives of the recipients, and by utilizing resources that would otherwise go to the landfill.

Mei

“My favorite part is seeing people who are united. We are helping the people who are in need, who are still struggling, and are chasing the American dream. I had the opportunity to fulfill my dream and it’s time for me to give back to society. And, I like the people who work with me and we are all friendly and happy.

The atmosphere at Food Day is up all the time. It’s tremendous. Sometimes, I go to the food giveaway which makes me extremely happy because the look on their faces from the beautiful boxes and knowing that they are going to feed the families and they are not going to go hungry.

I have done a lot of volunteering that wasn’t as meaningful as this because this is a personal contact and personal feelings and I enjoy that feeling after I have given the boxes of food to people.”

How you can get involved

Every Friday Free the Need volunteers come together to gather and distribute surplus food to people in need. The early morning teams collect food from different vendors around the city. After the gathering of goods they meet with volunteers to fill the boxes with fresh produce and goods. Volunteers hand out the food boxes to recipients at our designated distribution location.