“Meals on Wheels makes volunteering so easy! I volunteer just a couple of hours a week, and everyone is so friendly and welcoming. I’ve made nice connections with other volunteers and the clients are wonderful–so appreciative of the food, and fun to chat with.”– a volunteer, 2020
Sign Up to Volunteer!
To view Deliverer, Kitchen Assistant, and Gleaning shifts when we need help, click the Open Volunteer Shifts button. If you are a NEW volunteer, welcome! You may view the shifts and then click complete the New Application button to apply or call us at 301-434-1922 to do a phone intake and get started.
More About our Kitchen Brigade and Delivery Team
Every weekday, Kitchen Assistants and Deliverers keep our program running. Most of our volunteers come in once each week. Some come in more than one day in a week, others come in every other week. Still other volunteers serve as backups, only coming in to cover when others are away. We welcome volunteers of all ages. Most of our volunteers are retirees or working-age adults. Students join us on summer break and school holidays, often completing their SSL (Student Service Learning) hour requirement with us. Our youngest volunteers can assist their parents with deliveries. Younger volunteers must have their parent/guardian’s permission.
In our 2021 volunteer survey, 100% of our volunteers said that they’d recommend volunteering with us to their own friends and family. All volunteers are trained on their first day. And we’re happy to answer questions; just give us a call at 301-434-1922.
Kitchen Brigade
We have two Kitchen Brigade shifts every day. The morning shift runs from 9am to noon. This team prepares sandwiches and packages food for that day’s meals.
Our mid-day shift starts at 12:15 and goes until 2:00pm. These volunteers prepare and package food for the next day’s meals and help the cook clean and prepare the kitchen for the next day.
Delivery Team
Our deliverers enjoy meeting recipients and provide a smile with each delivery. Drivers arrive at noon to pick up coolers, hot packs, and route sheets. Routes are finished within an hour to an hour and a half.
It’s nice when when someone’s day gets better because you showed up! –a volunteer, 2021
In their own words — in our 2022 volunteer survey, our volunteers told us that what they enjoy about volunteering with us is…
- …building relationships with clients, volunteers & staff—being a part of a meaningful enterprise.
- …during this pandemic year, it’s the feeling of making a dent in the food insecurity situation that’s been increased thanks to covid. I also really like the Meals on Wheels community.
- …being helpful to folks who need it and making personal connections to clients.
- …the opportunity to provide support to those who are homebound.
- …connecting with the other volunteers in the kitchen and working together to do something positive.
- …it’s an awesome feeling knowing that I can make a difference in someone’s life…and you all make it so easy!
INFORMATION FOR CURRENT VOLUNTEERS:
- Delivery. We prepare and deliver two meals (one hot and one cold) Monday through Friday between noon and 2:00pm. Health department regulations require us to leave meals with a person — whether the client, a caregiver, a neighbor, or an apartment building front desk.
- Cancellations: If you will be late or need to cancel or reschedule a shift, let us know as far in advance as possible by calling us at 301-434-1922. We love getting notice two weeks’ out or more so that we can find a replacement for your shift.
- Holidays: we are CLOSED 7 weekdays each year in honor of holidays. These days are: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving + the day after, and Christmas Day. When those days fall on weekends, we will be closed the weekday closest to that date. We are OPEN all other holidays.
- Snow days: we follow Montgomery County Public Schools. If the schools close, we also close for the day. To learn if the schools are closed, click here or check local TV or radio stations for announcements. We will also update our outgoing voicemail message by 9:00am — if the outgoing message does not specify that we are closed, then we are open and we will deliver.