Volunteer at Open Table

Volunteer to Make a Difference

Thank You For Your Generosity, Time, and Caring

Volunteers are crucial to all operations of the Open Table food pantry, whether in traditional roles or using special skills to support with administrative functions or special projects.

Open Table food pantry needs your time and talent. Volunteers are vital to our mission of ensuring that no one in our service area goes hungry. We cannot do this without you!

Volunteer Handbook

New Volunteers

To become an Open Table volunteer, click Volunteer Application below to fill out a volunteer profile. Please review the Volunteer Service Areas below, so that you can be as detailed as possible with regards to your interests, skills, and availability. We will review your application and contact you by email for placement.

Volunteer Application

Existing Volunteers

If you are an active Open Table volunteer, please click Self Schedule below to login in and access your CERVIS list of opportunities and self schedule for shifts. If you would like to volunteer in other areas, please review the Volunteer Service Areas below and contact us at volunteer@opentable.org for placement.

Self Schedule

New Opportunities

There are many opportunities that don’t fit in the standard self-scheduled shifts including administrative positions and “behind the scenes” work. Click Help Wanted below to see positions we are currently filling in addition to service areas in need of volunteers. Contact volunteer@opentable.org if interested in volunteering for one of these opportunities.

Volunteer Service Areas - How You Can Help

Pick & Pack

Sort through our donated produce and shelf stable food and pack them for distribution, fulfill online orders, and other related projects

Shifts are 2 hours:

Mondays at 9am, 12pm, 2pm
Tuesdays at 9am
Wednesdays at 9am, 11am
Thursdays at 9am, 11am

Transport Food

Help gather food from local grocery stores, farms, and donation bins and deliver to Open Table. Volunteers must have their own vehicle and be able to lift 20 pounds. Volunteers are also needed to deliver groceries and meals to distribution sites for our mobile pantries and homes for our Concord Home delivery programs.

Shifts:

Days and times vary.

Student Teams

Pick and Pack shift after school hours specifically for students. Fulfill online orders and help prepare groceries for distribution among fellow students in our pantry. Get your service hours volunteering with friends! There are currently limited openings on the student shift.

Shifts are 1.5 hours:

Mondays at 4pm
Wednesdays at 4pm

Summer Student Internship

2-week summer internship session for high-school students. Applications will open April 1. Learn More

Learn More

Distribution

Help distribute food to our clients. The distribution team includes several roles. When volunteering for a shift you may be in the back parking lot taking orders or directing traffic, inside “shopping” the order loading grocery bags and food items in a grocery cart, or out front loading groceries into client’s vehicle.

Shifts are 2.25 hours:

Tuesdays at 12:15, 2:15 and 4:15
Thursdays at 12:15 and 2:15

Dishwashing

Preparing over 800 meals a week in our kitchen results in a lot of dirty dishes. Come into the kitchen for an hour and help wash our dishes at our commercial dishwashing station.

Shifts are 1 hour:

Mondays at 11am, 4pm
Tuesdays at 11am, 1pm, 4pm
Wednesdays at 11pm, 4:00pm
Thursdays at 11pm, 4:00pm

Special Events

Help organize and run special events and activities such as the Ride for Food, Crop Walk, Chopped for Charity gala, and more.

Group Volunteering

Does your company or service organization want to volunteer together as a team? Consider organizing a Food Drive or making Kids bags. Or contact us to discuss other group opportunities.

Kitchen

Last year our kitchen produced over 26,000 meals packaged to go to feed our community. Under the direction of the Open Table Head Chef, help prepare to-go meals for distribution. Tasks may include prepping ingredients, cooking dishes in our commercial kitchen, and/or portioning and packaging meals.

Cooking shifts:

M, T, W, Th 9am-11:30am
M, W, Th 2pm-5pm

Phone Orders

Take client orders over the phone on a weekly/bi-weekly basis. Volunteers must be 18+, have a smartphone, and a tablet or computer, as phone orders will be updated and tracked on a live spreadsheet. We are looking for both English speaking volunteers, and volunteers who speak Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian and/or Spanish.

Shifts are 2 hours:

Saturdays at 10am
Mondays at 10am

On Your Own Time

Use your skills and talents behind the scenes to help prepare flyers and printed materials, fundraise, and more on a schedule that works for you.

COVID Safety Guidelines

In the interest of continuing to successfully deliver our mission of getting healthy food to people in need, Open Table now requires all volunteers and staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Masks are optional. Open Table encourages volunteers, staff and clients to make an individual decision about masks. We are encouraging people to make their personal health concerns a priority including staying home if in doubt about their health.

We'd Love for You to Join Us!

Every week over 180 volunteers work together to run our Pantry, Meals, and Mobile programs. We also have many behind the scenes opportunities – fundraising, event planning, administrative support, transportation and board membership. Please be sure to indicate on your application your availability and interests. It takes a village to run Open Table.

If you are not available when we are open, we encourage you to consider helping us with our special events or projects. Volunteers are often able to help in this capacity with much more flexibility. The skill sets we are always looking for include: grant writing, public relations, marketing, event planning, board development, fundraising, community outreach, and knowledge of multiple languages.

Questions? Want to Learn More?

Please contact us at volunteer@opentable.org if you have additional questions, problems registering, or just want to learn more about volunteering.

Recent Volunteer News

Meal Delivery Volunteer Needed

Open Table provides 200 meals every other week to the Robinson Middle School in Lowell providing weekend nutrition for students who are very low income…

Thank You, Rotary and Stop & Shop

Henry Dane and David Robertson representing the Rotary Club of Concord delivered over 1040 pounds of donated/rescued Food items from Stop & Shop, Acton this…

December Closure

Open Table will be temporarily closed starting Friday, December 23rd. We will reopen Tuesday, January 3, 2023. During the first week of January, pre-packed bags…

Hear from Some of the People YOU Can Help

As we look back on 2022 and forge ahead in 2023, we want to share some words from our clients. While they often wish to…

Volunteer Parking

Our wonderful main facility is located right in the heart of downtown Maynard. Although there is on-street and lot parking directly around the building, we are requesting that volunteers who are spending more than an hour at the facility please park in the River Street Municipal lot (parking fees are waived for Open Table) just a short walk away. This will allow downtown parking to remain available for visitors and patrons of the stores and restaurants in our community. Thank you!

Parking Directions for Volunteers

From Route 62 westbound (Waltham Street), continue onto Summer Street.
Take a left on Nason Street
Take a left on Main Street (Route 62 eastbound).
Take a right on River Street directly across from Open Table and follow the road as it curves toward the end of the street.
Look for Open Table sign on telephone pole in front of the parking lot on the left. Permits are waived for Open Table. DO NOT PARK across the street – you WILL BE TOWED.
The lot is a 3-minute walk from the corner of River and Main to our facility at 33-37 Main Street. Walk to Open Table via River Street for the quickest route.

Parking Directions for Printing

Expense Reimbursement

Occasionally our volunteers and staff purchase supplies for Open Table out of pocket. Such approved expenses will be reimbursed. Please submit all required information and receipts.

Expense Reimbursement

Communications Requests

Have a communications request or need help with a flyer or marketing piece?
Complete a request form online or contact the communications team at communications@opentable.org

Submit Communications Request