All volunteers must be aged 18 or over.
No, we give basic HIV awareness training at the Induction Evening.
If you are volunteering as a Kitchen Assistant, Host or anything else to do with our Eating Together meal service, your volunteering will take place in the cafe space of another HIV charity called Positive East. Their building is right next to Stepney Green underground station.
For Dietetic volunteering, you’ll be at our offices on Caledonian Road in North London.
Apart from that we do a lot of fundraising out and about all over London, selling cakes and shaking buckets!
This varies depending on which role you are volunteering in. Kitchen Assistants, Lead Cooks, Nutrition Assistants and Hosts need to commit to one shift every 4-6 weeks. Most office based roles including Dietetic Support Volunteer and Volunteer Community Dietitian require one day per week. Check the role descriptions on current vacancies for full details.
During lockdown we had some home-based volunteering open to qualified Dietitians and Nutritionists but we have now returned to in-person volunteering. However we are open to ideas, so if you have skills you’d like to use for our charitable services and think there’s a way you can do this from home, by all means get in touch!
We welcome applications from volunteers with disabilities; however your ability to volunteer would depend on the role. Please email volunteering@foodchain.org.uk if you wish to discuss this further.
Yes! We welcome applications from past Service Users. You’ll need to follow the exact same process as other volunteers.
If you have volunteered at Eating Together, we will provide reference if you have completed at least six shifts. For office based volunteers we can provide a reference after you have been with us three months.
Yes, The Food Chain will reimburse travel expenses to and from your shift according to our Finance Policy. We are able to reimburse travel expenses to the maximum value of a zone 6 Oyster card. If volunteering for 5 hours or more, we will also reimburse lunch expenses up to £5. You must provide us with evidence to claim.
You will always be supported no matter which role you do. There is always a member of staff to defer to no matter when or where you’re volunteering. The Volunteer Manager is also always on hand help and answer any questions or concerns, you can email them on volunteering@foodchain.org.uk
All volunteers need to attend two trainings – a Food Chain Volunteer Induction and a session on Service User Support.
Other roles may require additional in-office training e.g. Dietetic Support Volunteer.
No, our beneficiaries do not fall into any of the categories that would require our volunteers to be DBS checked.
