Volunteer

Meals on Wheels is a meal delivery service that provides a nourishing lunchtime meal, a friendly visit and a regular safety check to homebound older adults in our community. Home delivered meals help seniors maintain their independence and continue to live independently. FOOD For Lane County and our volunteers package and deliver meals throughout the Eugene area, serving over 400 members of our community every weekday.

• Our kitchen volunteers work in teams to portion, count and package food for our delivery routes. They also assist with kitchen clean-up at the end of their shift.
• Volunteer delivery drivers are needed to deliver noontime meals to homebound seniors in the Eugene area. Total time commitment is approximately two hours per week.

Please Note: Drivers use their own cars and should have the physical ability to carry up to ten pounds and get in and out of the car approximately 20 times during a delivery route. Drivers are required to have a current drivers license and car insurance, and must pass a DHS background check and fill out a FFLC volunteer application prior to training.

770 Bailey Hill Rd
Eugene, OR 97402

Designated parking is at the East end. Please enter through the door up the ramp on the North-East corner of FOOD For Lane County.

The Mobile Pantry program focuses on serving marginalized communities and geographic areas with high need in an effort to supplement and promote other hunger-relief agencies. Through collaborations with partners and local communities the mobile pantry works to increase food security through an equitable, sustainable, and accessible mobile pantry model while incubating self-sufficient local solutions to hunger. Each distribution requires volunteers to support the process of loading the truck, the set up of tables and food boxes, and clean up.

The Senior Grocery Program provides groceries to low-income seniors in our community. Volunteer as a Senior Grocery delivery driver! Volunteers must be able to carry 40 pounds, provide a copy of a current driver’s license, car insurance and pass a background check. A short orientation is required prior to beginning deliveries. Deliveries are scheduled between the hours of 9am and 5pm Monday through Friday.

2345 West Broadway
Eugene, OR 97402

During the summer, when school breakfast and lunch programs are closed, FOOD For Lane County serves free, nutritious lunches to children aged 2 – 18 years old through the Summer Food Program. Volunteers serve lunches to children at sites located throughout Lane County and prepare lunches at Lane Community College.

770 Bailey Hill Rd
Eugene, OR 97402

The Dining Room is a free restaurant open for service Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, Noon-1:45 pm. To-gos are served from 2 to 2:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday (with the exception of every other Wednesday starting Nov. 23, on which we will serve to-go meals only from Noon to 2:45 pm.

270 West 8th Ave
Eugene, OR 97401

No onsite parking. There is free parking a block away or street metered parking.

The GrassRoots Garden is a 2.5 acre organic garden behind St. Thomas Episcopal Church.  The GrassRoots Garden was the first of its kind in Lane County when it started in 1991 and is the longest operating program with FOOD For Lane County.

Volunteers are needed year-round to participate in a variety of activities, including soil preparation, planting, harvesting, composting, and greenhouse projects. Large groups of volunteers can be accommodated by special arrangement.

Staff and OSU Lane County Extension Master Gardeners teach classes, lead demonstrations and educational activities in the garden as well.

Volunteers are welcome at the GrassRoots Garden on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10am – 4pm*

*Please respect the property and only visit during our operating hours.

1465 Coburg Road
Eugene, OR 97401

Parking is on the south side of St. Thomas Episcopal Church. The entrance is at the end of the driveway.

Seed to Supper is a comprehensive, six-week beginning gardening course that gives novice, adult gardeners the tools they need to successfully grow a portion of their own food on a limited budget. Seed to Supper Garden Educator volunteers teach classes at community host sites. FOOD For Lane County offers Seed to Supper in partnership with Oregon Food Bank.

1465 Coburg Road
Eugene, OR 97401

Parking is on the south side of St. Thomas Episcopal Church. The entrance is at the end of the driveway.

The Youth Farm is a 6-acre urban educational farm and a work experience site. The Youth Farm serves FFLC’s mission of reducing hunger by engaging our community to grow fresh nutritious produce, teach and learn gardening and farming skills, and build strong relationships.

Each year, community volunteers assist staff in growing over 100,000 pounds of organic produce, learning while growing. We hire a crew of teenagers to work at the farm where they receive job skills and training in gardening, financial management and nutrition as well as teamwork and leadership. Our robust season-long internship program for adults gives aspiring farmers and interested community members skills to grow and market their own produce. Staff, volunteers, interns and youth gain skills while growing food for FOOD For Lane County, for sale through a 150+ member Community Supported Agriculture Program, and through two online plant sales each year in the spring and early summer.

We provide service opportunities to small corporate groups and faith-based organizations.

705 Flamingo Avenue
Springfield, OR 97477

The Youth Farm is located at the south end of Game Bird City Park.

During weekdays, volunteers prepare food for the Dining Room, repack bulk products, sort and clean donated produce and perform other kitchen tasks as needed.

• Do you know how to use a vegetable peeler?
• Can you chop potatoes?
• Work well with other volunteers?

We can use your help!

770 Bailey Hill Rd
Eugene, OR 97402

Our commercial kitchen is located down the hallway on your right, after entering the lobby.

Food Rescue Express (FREX) volunteers repackage rescued food from hospitals, schools and restaurants that has been prepared but not served. This “rescued” food is repackaged into family-sized portions by volunteers in FOOD For Lane County’s commercial kitchen in the evenings. The food is then distributed to families in need through food pantries, shelters and meal sites.

FREX food adds nutrition and variety to emergency food boxes while engaging the community in our mission, creating new partnerships and donors and preventing good food from entering landfills.

770 Bailey Hill Rd
Eugene, OR 97402

Our commercial kitchen is located down the hallway on your right, after entering the lobby.

FFLC partners with Springfield Public Schools to support Two Rivers Dos Rios, Maple Elementary, and Riverbend Elementary with 300 Snack Packs a week. These shelf-stable weekend snacks are offered to youth needing supplemental food assistance. Once a month, we invite a team of volunteers into our warehouse to hand-pack Snack Packs for the schools. In two hours, we can create over 1,000 Snack Packs for youth. Join us!

770 Bailey Hill Rd
Eugene, OR 97402

Our commercial kitchen is located down the hallway on your right, after entering the lobby.

Volunteers handle over 2 million pounds of food each year that is generously donated from our community. Donated food must first be inspected, sorted and boxed to ensure the food is safe to distribute. All this sorted food is then distributed to our partner agencies where they can make it available to help in their neighborhoods.

Warehouse volunteers help with basic warehouse tasks such as cleaning, loading and unloading trucks and vans, sorting donated food and helping with pick-ups and deliveries. Available shifts vary during the warehouse operating hours Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm.

770 Bailey Hill Rd
Eugene, OR 97402

Volunteering at a FOOD For Lane County event is a fun way to get involved in our mission to end hunger in Lane County. Most events happen with enormous support from volunteers. Take a look at the events page to see what’s coming up.

FOOD For Lane County’s Nutrition Education Program provides nutrition education, basic cooking skills and tips on how to stretch limited food budgets to income-eligible audiences throughout Lane County. We currently have two education programs: Cooking Matters and Cooking Matters at the Store. Classes are taught by volunteers and administered by FOOD For Lane County in partnership with Oregon Food Bank and with the support of Share Our Strength.

770 Bailey Hill Rd
Eugene, OR 97402

The Partner Agency Services team works with this network of partners to manage our partnerships. This includes supporting them to receive the food, supporting best practices in distributing the food to clients, training and coaching, contract compliance monitoring and a lot of relationship building with a group of really remarkable people and agencies across Lane County.

We are seeking volunteers to support this team in supporting both our partners and the warehouse which works so hard to supply them with food.

All FFLC Partner Agencies are their own, independent, non-profit or religious organizations. Most are staffed by volunteers and are great places to work and volunteer in direct service. Find the closest place to you to volunteer using the pantry directories!