Every Tuesday afternoon food pickup at the Berkeley Food Network from 12:45-1:30. The donation will then be delivered to the North Berkeley Senior Center by 2:30. All the food will be given out on Wednesdays from 10-12. A car is necessary and a brief orientation required. It's a 10 minute drive between locations.
The weekly shift is from 1-3 on Tuesdays. We need a commitment of at least 4-6 months. If multiple volunteers apply, the shift can be rotated between them; so it isn't a weekly job for one person.
The Berkeley Food Network is on the corner of 9th Street and University in Berkeley. The entrance to the warehouse is behind a gate that will open for you at 1 pm by staff. Many shoppers will be let in at the same time to go through donated produce from local grocery stores and farms. So please be quick selecting the best items available.
We need enough food to feed 50 seniors. ( 4-5 banana boxes that are on site to put food in) The produce is "recycled", so try to pick items in the best shape possible.
They seem to prefer citrus, grapes, greens, salad mix, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, eggplants, and berries of any kind. We like to give them as much organic produce as possible. Avocados are popular, but mostly bruised or soft, so be selective if you take them....
After the food is selected, it needs to be listed on a form, weighed, and signed off by staff before loaded in your car.
The walk in cooler is at the back of the N. Berkeley Senior Center in the kitchen where the donation will be housed until the next morning. You can park in their lot behind the building next to kitchen door.