Volunteer Opportunities
Distribution day Volunteers
Six to seven Volunteers are needed on each day the pantry is open (Monday,Wednesday, Friday) to help stock the refrigerators and shelves with the donated groceries that arrive each of those mornings, to assist with the distribution of food to our Patrons and, at the end of the day, to prepare the Pantry for the next service day. These Volunteers generally work a particular day of the week, arriving shortly before 9:00 a.m. and departing at or around 12:15 p.m.
Drivers
Grocery Stores: Three Drivers (plus substitutes) are needed on each day the Pantry is open (Monday,Wednesday,Friday) to drive to one of the three, local grocery stores that donate products to us, delivering such to the Pantry by 9:30 a.m.
BRAFB: One driver (plus a substitute) is needed to make the trip to BRAFB in Winchester each Thursday to pick up and deliver the 1,000 or so pounds of non-perishable food items we purchase each week from the central food bank. This pick-up generally occurs at 8:30 a.m. and is usually completed by 9:45 a.m.
Farmers' Markets: Two Drivers (plus substitutes) visit either the Warrenton (Saturday) or The Plains (Sunday) Farmers' Markets to pack, pick-up and deliver donated, fresh produce to the Pantry during the Spring, Summer and early Fall months.
Note: Driver volunteers are required to utilize their own vehicles and to carry auto insurance that meets or exceeds the minimum coverage requirements.
Lifters, Toters, and sorters
Volunteers are needed every Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. to unload the BRAFB delivery onto the shelves in the Pantry's Hold. This shift is usually complete by 9:45 a.m.
Volunteers are needed every Sunday afternoon, at 3:00 p.m., to help unload the delivery from The Plains Farmers' Market.
Volunteers are frequently, if sporadically, needed to help sort and shelve the bounty from food drives that occur throughout the year.
Special Events and Skills
Food Drives, Fundraisers, and Community Activities: Volunteers are always needed at various projects organized by Seven Loaves that occur throughout the year (The Barn Challenge at the Upperville Colt and Horse Show, the table at the Community Concert Series, the Christmas in Middleburg Parade, etc.). Additionally we are so grateful that, at their own initiative, schools and churches, clubs and businesses, and generous individuals within the community also organize food drives and fund raisers on our behalf.
Special Skills: Are you an expert handyman and fixer upper? Are your gardens the envy of your neighborhood? Do your closet and pantry organizing skills make Marie Kondo's 'Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up' look like child's play? Would you enjoy giving school groups tours of the Pantry? Do you have a special skill that we don't even know we can use? CALL US! We can use you!