Volunteer FAQs

Volunteers sort and pack thousands of pounds of food each day. Once packaged, the food will be placed onto our inventory and made available to all Food Bank of Iowa partners.

Projects and tasks vary each day and may include:

• Evaluating, sorting and packing food drive donations
• Packing BackPack Program™ sacks
• Bagging bulk produce
• Repacking bulk rice, pasta, cereal or crackers into family-sized bags
• Boxing up like items into equally weighted boxes
• Labeling food items
• Breaking down cardboard and plastic for recycling

All volunteers are required to register online. Each volunteer will need to have their own volunteer account. Walk-ins are not accepted.

The minimum age to volunteer is 10 years old. Volunteers under the age of 18 must have a parent or legal guardian acknowledge a digital waiver. This is done when creating a volunteer account.

All volunteers younger than 16 must be accompanied by an adult guardian who’s signed up for the same shift. Youth groups are required to have one adult volunteer for every five youth volunteers.

We have two volunteer centers with morning, afternoon and evening shifts.

Des Moines Volunteer Center – 2220 E. 17^th St., Des Moines
Ottumwa Volunteer Center – 705 W. Main St., Ottumwa

Food Sorting Opportunities:

• Monday through Thursday, 1:30 – 4 p.m.

• Tuesday through Friday, 9 – 11:30 a.m.

• Wednesday, 5 – 7 p.m.

• Saturday, 9 – 11 a.m. (1x/month)
  We also have opportunities for skills-based volunteering and volunteering from home.

We suggest wearing comfortable clothing. Dress in layers as the temperature in the volunteer centers can vary.

Closed-toe shoes are required.

Lockers are provided to store all personal items. Phones are allowed only for taking photos. Any phone calls will need to be taken in the lobby.

Leave valuables at home. Food Bank of Iowa is not responsible for lost, stolen or damaged items.

To cancel your shift, log into your volunteer account and select “cancel registration” on the assigned shift.

Each shift includes a welcome, training, time to work on the project, and a wrap-up that includes a report on how much was accomplished. When volunteers arrive late or leave early, they’re unable to enjoy the full volunteer experience. It also diminishes our productivity.

We ask that all volunteers arrive on time and stay for the entire shift. Doors are locked once the shift begins. If you are unable to attend or stay for the entire scheduled shift, please log in to your account to cancel ahead of time.

Yes! Volunteering with Food Bank of Iowa is a great opportunity for groups. Volunteer groups can range from five – 20 people at our Des Moines volunteer center and five – 12 people at our Ottumwa volunteer center. Please reach out to Michaela Devaney Lowe at mdevaneylowe@foodbankiowa.org to discuss needs outside that range. Larger groups may be accommodated and/or placed in different rooms based on availability and projects.

All group scheduling availability depends on Food Bank of Iowa’s projects and business needs at any given time. Please click here to fill out a group request form.