Food Distribution

Lead Volunteer Instruction Manual

1. OPEN THE BUILDING

9:00 AM

  • Open the parking ENTRANCE lot gate

    • Use clicker to fully open parking entrance lot gate

    • While gate is fully open, find “spider hole” door flap on gate gear box (ugly green box next to gate)

    • Flip the switch inside the box to lock the gate in the open position

  • Unlock everything

    • Upstairs Door (left side of parking lot)

      • Use key labeled EAST (Alarm OFF code: 6-6-6-1-1)

    • Downstairs Door (right side of parking lot)

      • Use Code: 90026🔒 (Alarm OFF code: 6-6-6-1-1)

    • Shipping container

      • 4-7-7-3

    • Atheists United Office

      • Key labeled OFFICE (spare keys in the Atheists United mail box)

  • Open the parking lot EXIT gate

    • Find the gate’s gear box and then open the “spider hole” (you’ll find a switch and a power outlet)

    • Unplug the cord from the power outlet, then plug it back in (this should open the gate)

    • Once the gate is fully open, flip the switch to lock the gate in the open position

  • Help U-Haul drivers find supplies

    • Cold blankets are typically in the office or shipping container

    • Food bank agency card is in Atheists United’s mailbox

2. PRE-VOLUNTEER SET-UP

9:30 AM

  • Bring down supplies from office

    • Food Distribution Volunteer Bin

      • Safety vests, gloves, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, box cutters, volunteer check-in sheet, name tags, client sign-up sheets, number cards, pens and markers, etc.

    • First Aid kit

    • T-shirt bags (plastic bags used to bag groceries)

    • Coolers

    • Non-alcoholic drinks

    • Volunteer snacks

    • BlockRocker bluetooth speaker

  • Empty shipping container

    • Hand trucks / dollies

    • Folding tables

    • Tents / shade structures

    • Chairs

    • Tarps

    • Clamps

    • Signage

    • Ladders (as needed)

  • Set up volunteer check-in table

    • Cover a small folding table with a table cloth

    • Put out check-in materials (check-in QR code, name tags, pens, safety vests, gloves, sunscreen, etc.)

  • Set the vibe

    • Set up the BlockRocker Bluetooth speaker (play upbeat music)

    • Put drinks in coolers and place snacks nearby

    • Put ice in coolers (check downstairs refrigerator freezer or add to last-minute shopping list)

  • Get last minute supplies at Smart & Final (if needed)

3. VOLUNTEER ARRIVAL

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

  • Setup bag making station

    • Setup one of the 10ft pop-up tents

    • Arrange a circle of chairs

    • Lay out t-shirt bags and poles to place bags on

  • Volunteer check-in

    • Welcome volunteers as they arrive and guide them to check-in table

    • Assist with check-in process (make sure people grab a safety vest after check-in)

    • Put new volunteers to work at bagging station or distribution area setup

  • Distribution area setup

    • Set up two 20ft tents, 10 feet apart (long sides facing each other)

    • Attach an extra-large-tarp between the two tents using clamps to create a “super structure” of shade

    • Arrange two rows of pallets under the “super structure” (see photo reference)

    • Place tables under the “super structure” along the outside of the pallets (leaving walking space)

    • Put extra pallets by the buildings exit gate

    • Set up extra pop-up tents nearby

    • If there are dry-foods stored upstairs (hallway or office), bring it down and place on pallets

4. TRUCK UNLOADING

1:00 PM

  • Food Truck Unloading

    • DO NOT USE DOLLY ATTACHED TO U-HAUL TRUCK BED (unless the dolly has already been broken during loading of the pallets)

      • Use hand carts/dollies from shipping container

      • We get charged approximately $7 if we use the U-Haul dolly

    • Load food onto pallets or tables

      • Food bank requires we keep all food be at least 6 inches off ground

      • Group like-items together

  • Post-Unloading

    • Sweep/clean out the truck

1:30 PM

5. GROCERY KIT ASSEMBLY

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

  • Food Counting

    • Count/estimate food totals

    • Use whiteboard or paper from office to track numbers

    • Calculate division of all food items into approximately 144 grocery kits

      • Grocery Kit = Bag #1 (dry) + Bag #2 (fresh) + extras

  • Assembling

    • Recruit volunteers to assemble food kits based on counted quantities

    • Place completed bags on pallets near the exit gate

    • Track number of kits made

2:00 PM

  • Lunch Break

    • When food arrives encourage everyone to take a food break

    • Resume assembly after a 20-30 minute break

6. FINAL STAGE SETUP

2:30 PM

  • Set up client check-in table by entrance gate

    • Setup a 10ft pop-up tent and 6ft folding table by entrance gate

    • Grab client check-in table materials:

      • Tablecloth

      • Number cards

      • Sign-in sheets

      • Pens

      • Translation sheets

  • Setup client check-out table

    • Setup two 6ft tables by the exit gate nearest the building

  • Assign volunteers to check-in and check-out tables

    • Ideal volunteers: Bi-lingual (Spanish and English) and friendly

    • Check-out tables volunteers will need to be able to lift heavy bags

  • Take a group photo (if time allows)

3:30 PM

  • Open the food distribution!

    • Exchange each plastic number card for a grocery kit

HOW TO:
CHECK-IN TABLE

  • Collect client info on food bank check-in sheets (one name per family):

    • Name

    • Zip-code

    • Household Size

  • Give a plastic number card to every client that fills in their name

    • Clients can collect up to three cards if they put down info for multiple families

    • Limit of three cards per person

  • Direct clients to the next station for food pickup

7. CLEANUP

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

  • Sort and throw away trash

    • Break down and flatten all boxes

      • Place flattened boxes into the BLUE recycling bin

      • DO NOT OVERFILL BIN — Place overfull boxes neatly next to bins if needed

    • Which trash bins to use?

      • Black Bin → Landfill Trash

      • Blue Bin → Recyclables

      • Green Bin → Food waste

  • Return equipment (please do so neatly)

    • Shipping container:

      • Hand trucks / dollies

      • Folding tables

      • Tents / shade structures

      • Chairs

      • Tarps

      • Clamps

      • Signage

      • Ladders

    • Office:

      • Food Distribution Volunteer Bin (safety vests, gloves, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, box cutters, volunteer check-in sheet, name tags, client sign-up sheets, number cards, pens and markers, etc.)

      • First Aid kit

      • T-shirt bags (plastic bags used to bag groceries)

      • Coolers (empty all ice before returning)

      • Drinks and volunteer snacks

      • BlockRocker Bluetooth speaker

8. LOCK-UP

When clean up is finished

  • Lock shipping container

  • Lock office

  • Lock building and set alarm

    • Downstairs Entrance (press 🔒 button to lock)

    • Upstairs Entrance (use key labeled EAST)

    • Set Alarm:

      • Turn on alarm code: 6-6-6-1-2

      • You have 15 seconds to lock the door after you set the alarm

  • Close and secure gates

    • EXIT GATE

      • Reach into the gear box’s “spider hole” and flip switch

      • If it doesn’t close after a few minutes, reach into the spider hole and unplug and plug-back-in the gear box to reset gate (then wait a few minutes)

    • ENTRANCE GATE

      • Reach into gear box’s “spider hole” and flip switch

      • Sometimes you have to use your clicker after you flip the switch to help the gate restart

POST-EVENT

6:00PM-ish

Photos

Questions