FoodCycle

Venue Address

Teams Life Centre
Askew Road West
Gateshead
NE8 2PW
United Kingdom

54.955569510097, -1.6226097196341

Areas covered

As a Surplus Food Collection Volunteer you'll play a vital part in making our community meals happen, by ensuring that your weekly FoodCycle session has a regular donation of food. You'll pick up surplus food donations from our partner supermarkets and local retailers, ensuring a prompt, reliable and friendly collection each week. You'll then bring the surplus food back to your local project venue and store it securely.  You can do this on foot, by bike or by car!

You don't need to have any previous experience - you just need to be passionate about reducing the amount of food that's wasted in our society!

About Food Cycle.

Week in, week out we nourish the hungry and lonely in our communities with delicious meals and great conversation, using food which would otherwise go to waste. 

FoodCycle aims to:

  • Connect Communities
  • Support Mental health and Wellbeing
  • Nourish the hungry 
  • Promote sustainability 
  • Inspire change

A FoodCyle Project is where the magic happens. Each Project is run on the ground by a team of lead volunteers called Project Leaders, who ensure the smooth running of their FoodCycle Project. Project leaders are passionate, committed and want to make a positive change within their community.  They take ownership and make decisions about the day-to-day running of their Project. 

Time commitment

Give as much as you feel! it is easy to volunteer with FoodCycle and we don't look for minimum commitments, but we love it if you keep coming back! An average surplus food collection volunteer slot is 2 hours

To apply

Register to volunteer here: https://volunteer.foodcycle.org.uk/volunteer-sign-up then sign up to a surplus food collection slot online. If you're using a car to collect surplus food then we will need to see copies of the following:

  • your driving licence
  • your road tax and MOT certificate
  • your insurance policy

Safeguarding statement: 

Safeguarding is everyone's business - FoodCycle is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare/wellbeing of children, young people and adults at risk. It expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

 

Skills needed

- Have bags of enthusiasm!
- Follow all FoodCycle policies and procedures - including the volunteer agreement
- Follow all training you receive when registering with us
- Support FoodCycle to fulfils its mission of nourishing communities with food and conversation

Please note: you must not be barred from working with children and adults who may be vulnerable and at risk of abuse or neglect.

When driving volunteers need to have:

- a full UK driving licence
- a road-worthy vehicle with up-to-date road tax and MOT certificate
- fully comprehensive insurance
- read and agree to FoodCycle's Volunteer Drivers Policy

When cycling volunteers need to:

- a road-worthy bicycle (with ability to hitch a trailer) and a helmet

When walking volunteers need to:

- sensible shoes and a sturdy backpack/bag

Benefits for the Volunteer

Skills you'll learn

Teamwork: you'll work as part of a team to collect food from a range of retailers

Relationship building: you'll build lasting relationships with store managers and volunteers

- ongoing support and advice from a FoodCycle Project Leader
- Expenses, including mileage, covered in line with our volunteer policy
- Free online training modules, including first aid awareness and food allergens
- the opportunity to take on additional tasks/responsibilities
- impressive skills to add to your CV and a reference if/when needed
- the opportunity to meet a large network or like

Register your interest
Your details will be passed onto the organisation offering this volunteer opportunity so that they can contact you directly with more information. Anonymised information will be kept for monitoring purposes.