Volunteer

Volunteers make a difference in the local community across a range of roles, including boosting donations, packing food parcels, providing a warm welcome, tackling loneliness, signposting to additional services, connecting with partners, raising awareness and leading projects.

Here in Gloucester, we’d love you to be part of that story. Whether you can spare a few hours a week or help occasionally, every role makes a meaningful difference to someone’s life.

If you’d like to join our team, please call 01452 309683 or email us at info@gloucester.foodbank.org.uk — we’d be delighted to hear from you.

Take a look at our current volunteer opportunities below to see how you can get involved.

Volunteer vacancies

Marketing & Communications Volunteer

Are you creative and passionate about telling stories that make a difference? We’re looking for a volunteer to support our marketing and communications work. This is a flexible role that can fit around your availability.

You could be helping us by:

• Creating engaging content for our social media platforms
• Drafting press releases and liaising with local media outlets
• Designing posters, leaflets, or digital content to promote campaigns
• Sharing stories of impact to inspire our community to get involved

Experience with social media, commercial media, or content creation would be really welcome, but most importantly we’re looking for someone with enthusiasm, creativity, and a desire to use their skills to support local people in crisis.

Food Drive Coordinator

We are seeking a dedicated and organised volunteer to coordinate our monthly supermarket food drives, which are a vital source of donations for the foodbank.

The role involves:

• Liaising with local supermarkets to arrange suitable collection dates
• Organising volunteers to run the drives (mainly from our existing team, but also recruiting new volunteers via social media where needed)
• Supporting the smooth running of these events, making sure volunteers feel confident and customers are warmly engaged
• Helping to promote food drives locally, so that as many people as possible are aware and able to contribute

Commitment: Around half a day per week, with the potential to take on more responsibility if you’re motivated and keen to get more involved.

These food drives are a lifeline for many local people, and this role is key to making them happen. You’ll be helping to ensure our shelves are stocked and that no one in our community goes hungry.

Interested? Get in touch for more details: manager@gloucester.foodbank.org.uk

Supermarket Food Drive Volunteers

Could you give a few hours to help collect food for people in crisis? Our supermarket collection volunteers are the friendly faces who make it possible for shoppers to donate food during our monthly drives.

The role involves:

• Handing out leaflets to customers as they enter the store, explaining what items are most needed
• Collecting donations at the exit and thanking customers for their support
• Sorting donated items into crates so that they can be easily transported back to the foodbank

This is a flexible role — you can volunteer as and when supermarket collections are booked in. Enthusiasm, a smile, and a willingness to chat with members of the public are the most important things. Every tin or packet collected makes a real difference.

Drivers & Drivers’ Mates

We’re looking for reliable, practical volunteers to help collect donated food from supermarket collection points across Gloucester. These collections are vital to keeping our warehouse stocked and ensuring we can provide food to local people in crisis.

The role involves:

• Driving one of our foodbank vans (drivers must be 25+ with a clean, full UK licence)
• Working in pairs with a drivers’ mate, who helps with navigation, lifting, and loading
• Visiting local supermarkets to empty the foodbank donation bins
• Returning donations to the foodbank to be weighed in and processed

What we’re looking for:

• Drivers (25+) with a valid UK driving licence
• Drivers’ mates (no licence required) to assist with collections
• Volunteers with a reasonable level of physical fitness, as the role involves lifting crates
• Reliability and a team spirit — you’ll be working alongside another volunteer

Time commitment: Flexible — usually a few hours at a time, depending on supermarket schedules.

This is a great opportunity if you want to make a hands-on difference in your community. Every crate collected helps ensure no one goes hungry.