PRISM - Volunteer at our Marketplace Food Shelf

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PRISM seeks to be a leader in creating meaningful and impactful volunteer experiences for community members. Our ability to best serve the community is hinged on our capacity to physically do the work, as well as having the trust and involvement of community stakeholders.

Volunteers are key components in PRISM’s mission of providing social services and connections that empower people in our community to build healthy, stable lives, and our vision to lead in providing innovative and dignified services that foster resilient individuals and a healthier, more sustainable community. This past year, our food shelf has served triple the amount of participants compared to our FY of 18-19. Help us in our efforts to combat issues of food insecurity in our community.

Please note that the below description is based on our original service delivery model, and that changes have been made during COVID-19 to ensure a safe environment for staff, volunteers, and our participants. When enrolling as a volunteer, Nolan Isaacson, Volunteer Manager, will provide you with information regarding our current process.

Volunteer Duties and Requirements

The Marketplace Food Shelf utilizes a "choice" model, meaning the participants are free to shop just as they do in a traditional grocery store by choosing exactly the food they need from the shelves within Food Shelf guidelines. Volunteers working in the Marketplace Food Shelf will perform a variety of duties including:

• Accept donations from the public, offer and provide the donor with a receipt if requested.
• Directly serve our participants with check-in/out
• Review and sort food donations for packaging issues and expiration dates compared to PRISM guidelines
• Build and assemble non-perishable boxes for participants shopping at our food shelf
• Stock shelves with purchased and donated products
• Break down packaging for trash and recycling
• Maintain a clean, safe, and orderly work environment
• Be a resource for new recruits in the Marketplace Food Shelf, provide guidance and support
• Other duties as assigned

Knowledge, Skills, Education, Experience:

• Effective interpersonal skills under all types of conditions, exhibiting a supportive, direct, and positive approach with participants, staff and other volunteers
• Experience working with diverse populations with the demonstrated ability to communicate and relate effectively to a wide variety of individuals
• Volunteers with experience in retail and/or direct customer service do particularly well here
• Passion for food insecurity
• Ability to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends, as required
• Be able to lift 10 pounds, stand for duration of shift, bend and twist
• Be able to use step stools and/or ladders
• Be able to use scissors and box-cutters
• Must wear close-toed footwear

If interested, please reach out to Nolan Isaacson, Volunteer Manager, and 763-432-4230 or nisaacson@prismmpls.org.