Volunteer Policies & Agreement
Thank you for your interest in volunteering at the GVFB. We are grateful for your support and dedication to serving the community!
We welcome applications from groups interested in reserving shifts for March and April who are available Monday to Friday during regular business hours. We are especially seeking groups available Thursdays from 3:30–7:30 PM for our Vancouver Distribution location and Fridays from 3:00–7:30 PM at Burnaby Distribution. There are also volunteer opportunities at our Burnaby Warehouse, with shifts available 9:00 AM–12:00 PM and 1:00 PM–4:00 PM.
At this time, we are not accepting new Saturday group applications. Student groups seeking school credit hours must register as individual volunteers during one of our intake periods. Details about upcoming application cycles can be found on the GVFB website.
Please note that a minimum of four volunteers is required to register as a group.*
Available Group Opportunities (Per Shift):
Burnaby Warehouse (behind the scenes roles):
- Burnaby Warehouse Support - max. 8 volunteers
- Burnaby Fresh Food Sort - max. 3 volunteers
- Burnaby Market Support - max. 3 volunteers
Burnaby Distribution (frontline role):
- Burnaby Food Distribution - max. 5 volunteers
Vancouver Distribution (frontline role)
- Vancouver Food Distribution - max. 10 volunteers
Please read the following before you submit an application.
Group Volunteer Requirements:
- Must be at least 15 years old for warehouse support
- Must be at least 15 years old for produce packing;
- Must be at least 15 years old for food distribution;
- Must be at least 15 years old for fresh food sort;
- Must be at least 15 years old for market support;
- Must be able to stand for three hours;
- Must be able to lift/bend up 20-40 lbs safely;
- Must possess basic English communication skills (verbal and comprehension);
- Criminal Record Checks are not required for corporate volunteers.
Volunteer Agreement:
- We will act honestly and follow the highest standards of ethical behaviour when interacting with other volunteers, clients, staff, and community partners.
- We will arrive on time and commit to an entire shift unless an absence is unavoidable, in which case we will refer to the cancellation policy.
- We will accept directions and decisions made by GVFB staff and complete all duties diligently.
- We will report unsafe conditions and practices to GVFB staff.
- We will support clients, community agency partners, GVFB staff, and other volunteers with patience, respect, and dignity.
- We will not take photos of clients and will receive consent from other volunteers and GVFB staff before taking photos.
- We will maintain the confidentiality of all sensitive GVFB information that we may learn or use to perform our volunteer role.
- We agree that by submitting a group volunteer application, we have read and accepted all volunteer requirements and the Volunteer Agreement.
- We further acknowledge and agree that if we do not follow the GVFB policies, we may be asked to temporarily or permanently remove ourselves from all GVFB volunteer opportunities.
*Upon acceptance, the group organizer will receive a copy of our Group Volunteer Handbook, Guidance on Navigating the My Impact portal, and the GVFB Cancellation Policy. If you have any questions, please contact groupvolunteering@foodbank.bc.ca
