Volunteers are the heartbeat of the Kitchen.
Volunteer at CK
Our wonderful CK volunteers continue to be the “puzzle pieces” that make our meal service run smoothly! From our pre-dinner volunteers (weekdays 1:00-2:30) who assemble take-away bags, with sandwiches, fruit, snacks, utensils, and handy-wipes, to our meal volunteers (2:30-5:30 weekdays; 10:30 am-1 pm on Saturdays) who prepare, serve and clean after the meal, they come with a smile and are ready to lend a hand. We couldn’t do what we do without them!
One comment a volunteer made in our recent volunteer survey summed up their experience here at CK in this way… “Thanks to CK, I’ve come to realize how hunger, poverty, and homelessness affect so many different groups. I unknowingly had a bias that certain groups would be more affected by homelessness than others in my community, but I’ve seen everyone come in – men, women, children, and families, all ranging in ability, race, and other backgrounds.”
We invite you to sign up if you’d like to help. All volunteers need to be registered on Volunteer Hub. If you do not have an account, please visit our Volunteer Calendar to create one and look for available dates. Our schedule is on the website for two months on a rolling basis, so check it out and choose your dates! All volunteers on site must be at least 16 years old and must be scheduled in advance. For any questions, please email alex@cathedralkitchen.org.
Meal Service
A few things to note:
- Guests may choose where they sit.
- “To go” meals will be available at the front door for our guests that prefer that option.
- All guests will receive a hot, delicious and nutritious meal, along with a take-away bag of food.
- Our Pavilion houses coffee (Mon through Fri), free hygiene items (Mon), a mini marketstand where guests can get groceries (Mon through Fri) and agency partners providing services to our guests.
- Our dining room accommodates 160 seated guests.
- Our Saturday meal service is only “to go” meals and take-away bags of food distributed at the door.
- Overflow parking is available, as before, on Federal St., Carman St. (behind our building) and along the Equipment Share building on 15th St.
- There will be two shifts: 1-2:30pm (setting up the dining room before guests arrive) and 2:30-5:30pm (preparing for the meal, serving the meal and cleaning up after the meal service). Each interested individual must register separately for the date and time he/she would like to volunteer.
Marketstand
Every day from 2:45 – 5 PM individuals and families struggling with food insecurity can “shop” for free produce, protein, dairy, and pantry items on weekdays in our Pavilion.
Please visit our Volunteer Calendar if interested in volunteering at our Marketstand.
Important Information for the Holidays
The Cathedral Kitchen is closed on the following days:
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas Day
- New Year’s Day
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – We have our regular dinner service; volunteers and those interested in dropping off donations must sign up in advance. Groups interested in doing a volunteer project on MLK Day, should contact us far in advance, as space is limited.
Supportive Services
Cathedral Kitchen needs volunteers with station wagons, SUV’s or small trucks to pick up and deliver food that is donated to the Kitchen by local restaurants and businesses. Our volunteers make these pickups for us on weekdays. Some lifting may be required. To be on our delivery call list, contact Alex Wills at 856-964-6771, ext. 107.
Children’s Volunteer Projects
For our younger volunteers, we have opportunities for them to help out at home, in school, or with their faith organizations.
- Centerpieces: Make our dining room festive. Centerpieces do not have to be fancy, elaborate, or expensive. For example, we had paper bag turkeys for Thanksgiving—so cute! We’ll need a 20 total centerpieces to have enough for our tables. Note: Please do no use glass, heavy objects or glitter, and make sure they can stand up on their own on a table with no support.
- Sandwiches: Refer to food donation page for details.
Please visit our Volunteer Calendar to sign up for donations.
A centerpiece made by one of our children volunteers
Gleaning at Local Farms
Volunteers of all ages are needed for gleaning. The USDA defines Gleaning as the act of collecting excess fresh foods from farms, gardens, farmers markets, grocers, restaurants, state/county fairs, or any other sources in order to provide it to those in need.
Cathedral Kitchen benefits from the generous support of NJ Farmers Against Hunger and their donations of gleaned fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the year. CK’s gleaning volunteers harvest the produce which may be blemished but still edible and deliver to Cathedral Kitchen.
Cathedral Kitchen would not be able to afford these fruits and vegetables which are put to use in a variety of ways including:
- Prepared and served at our daily meal program which feeds a daily average of 325 people
- Available at the CK Market Stand where dinner guests can “shop” for the fresh produce they like free of charge
- Delivered weekly to Camden senior centers as part of CK’s community outreach.
Volunteers of all ages can sign up for gleaning dates and locations on the NJ Farmers Against Hunger webpage: http://www.njagsociety.org/farmers-against-hunger.html
Any questions, please contact Alex at 856-964-6771 ext. 107.
