Welcome to our Public Page! We're so happy you're here!

Good Neighbors welcomes youth who are interested in receiving volunteer hours of community service projects and/or Bright Futures Scholarships. Youth who are under 16 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who remains on site for the duration of their volunteer shift. All youth under the age of 18 are required to have a waiver signed by a parent or guardian prior to volunteering.

If you are interested in volunteering, please click on the Youth Volunteering header above to complete a Youth application.

Good Neighbors welcomes members of the community who are required to complete mandated community service hours by a court order.  The following offenses are disqualified from volunteering at Good Neighbors:

• Violent Crimes
• Sexual Offenses
• Crimes against children, the disabled or elderly
• Theft
• Drug related offenses

If you are interested in completing your service hours with Good Neighbors, please click on the Community Service Volunteer header above to complete the appropriate application.   

Volunteers working in the food bank are responsible for the critical task of sorting and re-packaging food items to prepare for delivery to communities and/or pick up by partners. Daily operations are overseen by the Food Bank Lead, a seasoned volunteer or staff.  

Responsibilities:

• Receiving all donations of bread items (i.e. loaves, rolls, tortillas, biscuits) and sweets (i.e. donuts, cookies, cakes, pies) as they are delivered by the drivers
• Separating  the breads from the sweets
• Packaging Bread and Sweet community boxes with a variety of items.
• Storing sweet items that require refrigeration in designated refrigerators. These items are pulled when a truck is ready to go directly to a delivery. Some examples are:  cheese cake, tres leche, pudding, large frosted cakes, Publix donuts with chocolate icing etc.
• Packaging loose bakery items (i.e. donuts, scones, muffins, pastries) that are not wrapped individually into bakery bags of 3-4 items each.

Requirements:

Ability to work in tight spaces

Ability to bend and lift 10-20 pounds.

Perishable cold items (i.e. produce, dairy items such as cheese, milk, yogurt and eggs) are delivered to the cold room in the main building. Deliveries vary daily so volunteers working in this space may rely heavily on the Pantry Lead for direction as to what items to prioritize for sorting, storage and repackaging.

Responsibilities:

• Sorting meats and frozen foods as they are delivered by the drivers into the appropriate freezer.  
• Preparing community boxes with a variety of items from the frozen inventory.
• Rotating meat as closely as possible so that the older dated meat is going out before the newer meat (i.e. March meat is sent out before April meat).
• Separating frozen desserts such as ice cream, popsicles, ice cream bars, frozen fruits, and waffles/pancakes and storing in appropriate freezers.

Requirements:

Ability to bend and lift 20-30 pounds, including lifting over one’s head.

Ability to be okay with working with meat that is not yet frozen

Ability to handle working with frozen foods

The muscle of Good Neighbors, these volunteers are critical for unloading, loading and moving the food at the Food Bank.  You may also choose to accompany drivers when needed.

Responsibilities:

• Assisting with unloading food pick-ups when the drivers return to Good Neighbors and ensuring the food items are delivered to the appropriate storage area (i.e. dry goods, refrigerated, and/or frozen foods)

• Assisting with loading vehicles with deliveries going to the communities served by Good Neighbors
• Accompanying drivers on deliveries/pick-ups as needed
• Assisting other volunteers with lifting/moving items as needed at the Good Neighbors facility

Requirements:

Ability to bend and lift 40+ pounds

Ability to get up and into the back of delivery trucks

Ability to push/pull a loaded cart to and from the Good Neighbors buildings

Ability to work outside year round

Drivers are critical to the mission of Good Neighbors in that they ensure donations of food are collected from vendors and delivered to the communities we serve.   These deliveries and pick-ups are made using Good Neighbor vans.    Drivers will work with Good Neighbors to determine their assigned schedules. 

Requirements:

Valid driver’s license and insurance

Background check

Commercial experience preferred (but not required) if using Good Neighbors vehicles

Ability to bend and lift 40+ pounds

Dry goods encompasses what is typically known as “pantry items” that do not require refrigeration. Some examples would be cereal, pasta, canned goods, coffee, crackers, cookies, sauces and condiments.

Responsibilities:

• Placing items left in the “drop zone” (a designated area where pantry items are dropped off) onto the appropriate labeled shelving unit.
• Preparing Ready to Go (RTG) trays of canned goods by incorporating a variety of canned goods in each tray. A RTG tray will contain items such as canned soup, veggies, fruits, meats etc.  Trays are labeled with yellow tape that is marked with RTG.
• Preparing Ready to Go (RTG) boxes made up of dry boxed/bagged items such as cereal, pasta, crackers, dried beans, cookies, coffee, sugar, baking items etc. Boxes are labeled with yellow tape that is marked with RTG.
• Filling the blessing box and refrigerator near the entrance at Belcher Road. 

Requirements:

Ability to bend and lift 10-20 pounds.

These are our Monday morning and Friday morning Community Food giveaways on-site at Good Neighbors. We provide groceries to any families and individuals in need. All are welcome and no registration is required.  Volunteers are needed to help set-up, clean-up, and to guide individuals efficiently through the various food areas to choose fresh groceries.

These volunteers are critical for keeping the facility and surrounding grounds clean and maintained on the inside and out (curb appeal).

Responsibilities:

• Sweeping/Mopping
• Emptying trash receptacles
• Wiping down all surfaces (table tops, freezers, refrigerators)
• Cleaning out refrigerators and freezers as needed
• Watering flower beds
• Picking up trash/debris on the grounds
• Breaking down boxes for recycling
• Checking and recording freezer/fridge temperatures monthly

Requirements:  

Ability to bend and lift 10-20 pounds

Ability to work outside year round

These volunteers are essential for building relationships and promoting the mission of Good Neighbors. Often the task will be time limited, for example assisting with a community event (manning an information booth), or a special project (preparing back packs for a back to school event).

Responsibilities May Include:

• Working at community events (i.e. festivals, public awareness events, back to school events, fundraising events)
• Special projects (i.e. putting together hygiene items for the homeless, preparing back packs for back to school events)
• Taking photos/videos at events to be used for marketing purposes
• Serving as a Good Neighbors Ambassador. This position attends the food distributions at the communities served by Good Neighbors to talk about how the program works and where the food comes from. Ambassadors may also be asked to attend meetings in the community to explain and bring awareness to how Good Neighbors is tackling food insecurity.
• Fundraising

Requirements:

Ability to show up prepared and on time for community assignments

Ability to professionally represent Good Neighbors to include wearing Good Neighbors t-shirt/ name tag

Ability to talk with the community about the work Good Neighbors does to combat food insecurity and to answer questions as they arise

Administrative volunteers help the “engine” of Good Neighbors run smoothly. Admin volunteers love detail work, including creating systems, taking notes, making phone calls, and/or working with spreadsheets. Admin volunteers may be responsible for taking notes, producing reports and documents, running databases and websites, project management, or other tasks that help ensure everything runs smoothly.

Marketing volunteers help get the word out about Good Neighbors! These include social media admins, email newsletter creators, graphic designers, video editors, and more. If you have a knack for the written word or paintbrush and want to help end food insecurity in the Tampa Bay area, we need you.