Cooking Volunteer, Food Cycle

Week in, week out we nourish the hungry and lonely in our communities with delicious meals and great conversation, using food which would otherwise go to waste.

FoodCycle aims to:
• Connect communities
• Support mental health and wellbeing
• Nourish the hungry
• Promote sustainability
• Inspire change A FoodCycle Project is where the magic happens. 

Each Project is run on the ground by a team of lead volunteers called Project Leaders, who ensure the smooth running of their FoodCycle Project. Project Leaders are passionate, committed and want to make a positive change within their community. They take ownership and make decisions about the day-to-day running of their Project.

About this role:

As a Cooking Volunteer you’ll join the kitchen team to help produce a three-course vegetarian meal using surplus food. You’ll contribute to recipe ideas, help with prepping the food, cooking the meal, and of course clearing up afterwards! You’ll be supported by a FoodCycle Project Leader, who will help you to develop your kitchen skills.
You don’t need to have any previous experience – you just need to get stuck in!

Skills you will learn

✓ Teamwork: you’ll work as part of a team to help produce a delicious meal for our guests.
✓ Cooking: you’ll learn how to cater for large numbers and how to make nutritionally balanced meals.
✓ Creativity: you won’t know what your ingredients are before the session so you’ll need to get creative to come up with recipe ideas and produce a great meal!

What to expect from FoodCycle:

✓ Ongoing support and advice from a FoodCycle Project Leader.
✓ Expenses, including mileage, covered in line with our volunteer policy.
✓ Free online training modules, including first aid awareness and food allergens.
✓ The opportunity to take on additional tasks/responsibilities.
✓ Impressive skills to add to your CV and a reference if/when you need it.
✓ The opportunity to meet a large network of like-minded people.
✓ A fun, creative volunteer experience within a community-led Project.
✓ We are an equal opportunity organisation and welcome volunteers with diverse abilities.

What we expect from you:

✓ Have bags of enthusiasm! ✓ Follow all FoodCycle policies and procedures – including the volunteer agreement. ✓ Follow all training you receive when registering with us.
✓ Support FoodCycle to fulfil its mission of nourishing communities with food and conversation.
Please note: you must not be barred from working with children and adults who may be vulnerable and at risk of abuse or neglect.

Time commitment
Give as much as you feel! It’s easy to volunteer with FoodCycle and we don’t look for minimum commitments, but we love it if you keep coming back! An average cooking slot is 4 hours.