Volunteers play an important role in fulfilling our mission, from preparing and serving healthy meals to strengthening community partnerships to greeting each guest with a smile. Each volunteer’s generous donation of time and skill allows MCHPP to work toward food security for everyone in our community.

A man with glasses and a beard, wearing a navy blue jacket, beanie and gloves, standing next to an open van filled with boxes and crates of donated food and supplies. He is smiling and gesturing towards the boxes.
People wearing masks working at a food bank, packing boxes of canned goods, dry foods, and produce.

Resources for Existing Volunteers

Volunteer Portal

Current volunteers can login to VolunteerHub here. View your schedule, reserve upcoming shifts, see your history, and more.

Volunteer Handbook

Click here to get a pdf copy of our volunteer handbook.

Prospective Volunteers

Thanks for your interest! Reliable volunteers assist in a variety of ways and roles can fit a range of schedules. Volunteers are welcome to help out in more than one program and as often as scheduling allows.

Volunteer Roles

  • Monday – Saturday

    Volunteer Drivers support MCHPP by driving to local super markets and picking up food donations.

    Volunteer Receivers process and sort the donations in preparation for food distribution in our Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry.

    Other Food Bank volunteers sort dry goods, meat, pet food, or prepare boxes of non-perishable items for Food Pantry guests.

  • Monday–Saturday

    The Soup Kitchen is open for lunch six days per week. Volunteers prepare lunch, dish to-go containers, wash dishes, and serve lunch to guests to-go through our front door.

    Varied

    Volunteers are also needed in the Community Kitchen for help processing foods for redistribution and preparing food for use in future Soup Kitchen meals.

  • Tue, Wed, Fri, and Sat

    Volunteers support guests during the intake process, manage the distribution of food, and assist guests to their cars.

  • Gleaning is a great group opportunity or a chance to work as a family.

    Growing Season
    During the spring, summer, and fall, activities include gleaning and doing deliveries Monday through Saturday. There are opportunities to work on farms such as Growing to Give, Goranson Farm, Six River Farm, and Whatley Farm. Volunteers also work as delivery drivers, farmers’ market gleaners, and provide support for community Sharing Tables.

    Off-Season
    Year round, the Merrymeeting Gleaners continue to harvest and distribute surplus produce in a reduced capacity from local farms, greenhouses, and more. Opportunities are sporadic.

  • Needs in our community change with each season, and so do the roles of volunteers.

    In the summer months, additional volunteers are needed to serve lunches to children and teens for our Summer Food Service Program, and to help garden around our buildings.

    During the school year, volunteers are needed to pack bags of food for children to take home on the weekends.

    Year round we host Mobile Pantries in surrounding towns, where volunteers give out groceries to community members.

    Volunteers also help deep clean the facilities throughout the year.

  • At this time MCHPP is unable to host most volunteer groups. If you have specific questions please reach out to Heather at volunteer@mchpp.org or 207-725-2716 x305.

    Some Corporate Sponsorship levels include a group volunteer opportunity, check out the sponsorship page for more information.

  • Help to fulfill MCHPP’s mission of providing hungry people with access to healthy food

  • Gain new skills and experiences

  • Meet other friendly, compassionate people

  • Make a difference as a team, with your school, family, church, or other group

  • Fulfill community service hours required for school or another entity

Benefits of Volunteering

Ready to Get Started?

Click the button below to complete a volunteer application. If you prefer a paper application or need assistance completing the form, please contact Eden at 207-725-2716 x307.

Please note: due to a significant recent increase in applications, new volunteer processing time is currently taking longer than usual. Thank you for your patience while we work to schedule new volunteer orientations. If there is not an orientation available in the near future, continue to check back in in the coming weeks as more will be added. If you want to help right away, please consider hosting a Solidarity Drive or other collection for MCHPP. You can learn more by visiting our Food Drive page.

Select ‘Create Account’ on the top right to register and apply.

Volunteer Application

Guidelines & Requirements

All volunteers, staff, and guests are asked to self-evaluate for illness before each visit. To maintain the health of the MCHPP community, and the safety of the food, please do not volunteer if you are unwell.

Minimum Age: MCHPP does not often work with volunteers younger than grade 9. In some scenarios, MCHPP may elect to accommodate children younger than grade 9 in specific volunteer jobs, but they must be accompanied by an adult guardian at all times. Contact Eden if you have questions regarding volunteer opportunities for younger children.

Volunteers under 18: Above grade 9, no supervision is required in the Food Bank and Food Pantry. Teen volunteers are welcome in the kitchen, however, they must be accompanied by a responsible adult and may not use a knife until age 16. Volunteers under 18 years may not sign up for shifts with or ride in agency vehicles alongside an un-related adult.

Court Mandated Volunteer Service: MCHPP does not permit court-mandated volunteers with less than one month to complete their service requirement. Additionally, due to the limited number of available shifts we are unable to guarantee service hours.


Still have questions? We’re happy to help! Please contact Eden at volunteer@mchpp.org or 207-725-2716 x307.