Support us
We rely on volunteers
Without people like you offering their time, Nourish simply wouldn’t be able to help those in our community who desperately need food and support.
Our volunteers do all kinds of things from sorting, packing and delivering the food to helping at events and overseeing the running of the charity as trustees.
Many volunteers choose to come in their own free time but we also have volunteers who join us from local businesses, community organisations, social clubs and youth groups.
If you think you could help, roles that we have available currently are shown below.
Warehouse Volunteer
There are two main roles in the warehouse: sorting the donated food, and preparing parcels of food to be delivered to people in need. We’re looking for volunteers right now.
Warehouse Volunteer – Role Description
The warehouse at Nourish is our centre of operations and the volunteers here have vital roles working in the team which manages and organises the stock of food from when it arrives to when it goes out for delivery.
What is the role?
Warehouse Volunteers:
- weigh donations of food and maintain records of donors, weights and dates
- sort food into categories and make sure all food is in-date
- report depleted stock to Operations Director or Warehouse Manager
- pack food bags according to the allocated lists
- work with the warehouse manager to organise food parcels for delivery
What skills/experience are needed?
Warehouse work does involve some lifting, although trolleys are available to transport crates and bags. Otherwise, you just need to be reasonably organised and friendly, honest and trustworthy.
Warehouse volunteers need to be aged 18 or over.
Where is the role based?
The role is in the Nourish Warehouse in Kingstanding Way on the North Farm Industrial Estate in Tunbridge Wells.
How much time does the role need?
It is really up to you how often you volunteer, but the usual hours for a shift are from 8.30am to 11am. We usually operate on weekday mornings, although we may ask for extra hours if you are willing to help. You can offer as many mornings as you want to. Volunteers can choose when they want to work on the monthly sign-up sheet.
How are warehouse volunteers trained and supported?
Volunteers are all given a full induction into Nourish, the way it works and what is expected for the role they are undertaking. New volunteers are paired with experienced volunteers for the first few sessions who will be able to offer support and answer questions.
How to apply
Contact Lesley D’Arcy, Operations Manager admin@nourishcommunityfoodbank.org.uk She will provide an application form for you to fill in and arrange a time for an informal chat.
Delivery Driver
Drivers take the food parcels from the warehouse to the houses of the people who need it. We need more people to join our team of drivers, so we’re recruiting now.
Delivery Driver – Role Description
Nourish’s model is based on volunteers delivering food direct to clients in their homes, so having a reliable group of people to do this is vital to the service we offer.
What is the role?
Delivery drivers typically deliver 4 or 5 food parcels each shift. Each parcel is usually 3-5 large carrier bags depending on client household size. Drivers load the bags into their cars and drive them to the addresses on the list provided. At the client’s home they unload the bags and hand them to the client on the doorstep.
What skills/experience are needed?
The driver role is a physical role: drivers lift and carry large, often heavy bags of food to the clients’ homes, which are sometimes not easily accessible and can be up or down flights of steps.
Drivers must have use of a car, and must tell their insurer about the Nourish role.
Otherwise, you just need to be friendly, honest and trustworthy.
Delivery drivers need to be aged 18 or over.
Where is the role based?
The role is centred at the Nourish Warehouse in Kingstanding Way on the North Farm Industrial Estate in Tunbridge Wells, but can involve driving to all parts of the Nourish operation area (Wadhurst and nearby villages, Paddock Wood, south Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells town). We repay out-of-pocket driver expenses incurred delivering food parcels.
How much time does the role need?
It is really up to you how often you volunteer, but the usual hours for a driving shift start at 10am for collection and run to 11/11.30am, depending on where you are delivering to. We usually operate on weekday mornings, although we may ask for extra hours if you are willing to help. Volunteers can choose when they want to work on the monthly sign-up sheet.
How are drivers trained and supported?
Volunteers are all given a full induction into Nourish, the way it works and what is expected for the role they are undertaking. New driver volunteers are paired with an experienced driver for the first session who will offer support and answer questions.
How to apply
Contact Lesley D’Arcy, Operations Manager admin@nourishcommunityfoodbank.org.uk. She will provide an application form for you to fill in and arrange a time for an informal chat. As part of the process, a DBS check will be carried out.
Events Volunteer
We run all kinds of events through the year to raise money and encourage food donations and we’re always looking for people to help at them.
Events Volunteer – Role Description
Nourish organise and participate in events throughout the year to raise funds and collect food donations and we need volunteers for a range of tasks at these events.
What is the role?
The exact demands of the role will depend on the event, but almost all will involve interacting with members of the public. Recent roles have included serving drinks at dance and entertainment events, handing out leaflets and collecting money, and taking and packing donations of food at a supermarket collection.
What skills/experience are needed?
Flexibility and a willingness to muck in and get involved. You’ll need to be friendly, honest and trustworthy.
Where is the role based?
Volunteers will be needed wherever the event is being held, which will most likely be in or near Nourish’s operations area. Some preparation work might be needed at the Nourish Warehouse in Kingstanding Way on the North Farm Industrial Estate in Tunbridge Wells.
How much time does the role need?
The hours that event volunteers are needed will vary depending on the events. It will be up to you how often you offer your time, or for how long. We will keep your name on a list of people interested in helping and contact you in good time when we need you. You will be able to opt in to helping at the event once contacted and then choose what time you can offer.
How are event volunteers trained and supported?
Volunteers are all given a full induction into Nourish and the way it works. For each event you will have your role explained, so you know what you are doing. You will be given a mentor as a named contact who will offer support and answer questions.
How to apply
Contact Lesley D’Arcy, Operations Manager admin@nourishcommunityfoodbank.org.uk. She will provide an application form for you to fill in and arrange a time for an informal chat.
Trustee
The board of trustees at Nourish oversee the charity and make decisions about how it is run and the services it provides. We are actively looking for new trustees at the moment.
Trustee – Role Description
Being a Trustee at Nourish
Like all charities, Nourish has a Board of Trustees who lead the charity and decide how it is run. The trustees at Nourish meet regularly with the staff leadership to monitor its work and make decisions about the charity’s aims and operations. On occasion, trustees at Nourish are involved not just at the strategic level but also in delivering projects.
Our Board members have a wide variety of skills and experience, but we are always interested in talking to people who share our commitment and would like to join the team and build on those skills. We expect our trustees first and foremost to have empathy with people in crisis and a desire to help and support vulnerable people. They should be able to work effectively as a member of a board, and ideally have some experience of board or committee membership, in a charitable, public sector or commercial organisation.
As a Trustee, you will be expected to come to the Board meetings, usually every two months for about 2 hours. Trustees are also allocated to and required to attend one or more sub-committees, depending on skills and experience.. For all meetings there will be documents to read in advance.
Please join us
We are a welcoming, friendly group, committed to doing everything we can to help people in food crisis in our area. If you think you can help, we would love to hear from you.
Roles
We are now recruiting for the Trustee role of Treasurer as the current Treasurer is coming to the end of his term. Find out more here.
