Volunteers are essential to our work at The Food Bank of Waterloo Region and have a crucial role in all aspects of our operations. From accepting community donations and sorting food to packing hampers and delivering food to over 120 programs and agencies within the Community Food Assistance Network, we couldn’t do our work without volunteers.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the world ground to a halt. For Tamara Gilhuly, it provided time for reflection and a chance to reset.

“I thought about how I wanted to spend my time, what I wanted my life to look like,” Tamara explains. “I made a shortlist of what was important to me for a volunteer job. I wanted to have a positive, direct impact. I wanted to be more physically active. And I wanted to have some choice in the shift times and types of work that I was doing, as well as to be able to volunteer with family members when possible. For me, volunteering at The Food Bank provides all those things.”

Together with her sons, Tamara started volunteering in our warehouse in June 2023. Over the summer, they packed hampers with fresh fruits and vegetables, sorted perishable and non-perishable food into organized categories, and packed orders for our Network partners.

“I think [The Food Bank] is really good for giving volunteers the ability to choose what you do and when you do it,” Tamara says.

In the fall, Tamara started volunteering weekly with her husband, Barry. Every Tuesday, they pack orders requested by our Network partners. This involves packing skids with the non-perishable food that’s already been sorted.

Barry and Tamara at The Food Bank.

“Usually, I do the picking. I call the things that we need,” Tamara explains.

“I move the boxes,” Barry adds, smiling.

“He’s the muscles,” Tamara agrees, laughing. “He builds the skid and wraps it so that it can be shipped, and we label it. That’s how I feel we’re doing something that’s concrete. You can see the food that you’re putting on the skid and know the agencies that it’s going to. I find that rewarding. And it’s a bit of a physical workout too.”

“A lot of walking around the warehouse,” Barry says.

After packing orders, Tamara and Barry take a one-hour break and go out for a dinner date. Then, they come back to The Food Bank and volunteer in our Engagement room. In this space, there are bins, boxes, and bags from community food drives and local grocery stores that are filled with all types of non-perishable food items from noodles to canned goods to granola bars. Alongside other volunteers, Barry and Tamara inspect the non-perishable food donations for quality, check their best before and expiry dates, and sort them into categories such as pasta, cans, and individually wrapped snacks.

“It’s fun to see the food move through different stages in the warehouse,” Barry says.

“It makes a nice break in the week,” Tamara notes. “It’s something we can do together too.”

They encourage others to volunteer at The Food Bank.

“Just come and have fun,” Barry says. “Don’t stress about it too much. It’s not hard work. It’s social. The sorting part is very social.”

“You have the option to try lots of different jobs,” Tamara explains. “So, whatever you like, you can find a way that you can contribute. I would say come and try it out, and because you can pick the shifts you do and when you do them, you can fit things into your own schedule.”

Are you interested in volunteering? Visit our website to learn more about the different volunteer roles and how you can help people in our community access the food they need.