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 encourage you to submit an application if you’re interested in reserving shifts for January and February 2026, and are available between Monday to Friday during regular business hours. Additionally, we are looking for groups with availability on Thursdays to support us at Vancouver Distribution from 3:30 to 7:30 pm and Fridays at Burnaby Distribution from 3 PM to 7:30 PM.
As a reminder, a minimum of four volunteers is required to qualify as a group.*
If you are a student group seeking to gain school credit hours, please note that you will need to register as an individual volunteer during one of our intake periods. You can find the information about our next application cycle directly on the GVFB website.
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
