Home Delivery Volunteering

Deliver groceries to home-bound clients

Our home delivery volunteers provide crucial services, regularly delivering nutritious groceries to senior and homebound clients – working onsite at the distribution location and helping prepare food for delivery. Tasks include loading boxes, following a pre-established route, adhering to food safety and health protocols and having excellent client service skills that include a desire to interact with older clients or clients with disabilities.

Once you have completed your first volunteer shift, you can decide if you would like to commit as a long-term volunteer. If you would like to move forward, you must clear a background check before volunteering as a home delivery driver again.

Home Delivery volunteer
Bing Center Curtner Warehouse SVDP St. Mark Church Mater Dolorosa Catholic Church Daly City Westlake Crosspoint Church of Silicon Valey New Sweet Home Church All locations

Information for your first shift

Volunteers will deliver food to homes of seniors and other homebound clients using their own vehicles, mileage and gas. Activities could include helping prepare food for delivery at the distribution site. Heavy lifting – a minimum of 25 pounds – will be required.

Your health and safety is a top priority. Learn more about our health and safety requirements for volunteering as a home delivery driver. Face masks are recommended, but not required, in outdoor settings. In addition, volunteers must follow posted rules at any of our partner sites.

  • Please wear comfortable clothing and footwear depending on weather. If needed, bring sunglasses, sunscreen, and hats.
  • Please tie back long hair.
  • Bring water and snacks. It can get very hot and volunteering involves physical activity. Come prepared so you can keep up your energy!
  • If available, please bring a hand cart or small wagon to help you deliver boxes.

You will need to check out with site leadership before departing for verification. We do not write letters, sign third-party forms or electronically confirm hours on a third-party platform. See our volunteer timekeeping policy. A volunteer timecard is available for your use.

Please carefully review your schedule prior to taking a volunteer shift. Cancellations and no shows directly impact our ability to provide the nutritious food our community members need. If you need to cancel or reschedule, please access your personal site and cancel the shift(s) you can no longer attend – if possible, at least one week in advance.

If you are unable to access your personal site, please contact us at psvolunteerdesk@shfb.org.

Delivery drivers must follow their pre-established route, exercise good judgment, have consistent attendance and keep good communication with their site lead/delivery coordinator. Most importantly, volunteers should have excellent client service skills that include a desire to interact with older and/or clients with disabilities.

Other things to know:

  • The minimum age to volunteer as a home delivery driver is 18 years old.
  • Volunteers must provide proof of auto insurance and a valid CA driver’s license.
  • As volunteers, you use your own vehicle, mileage and gas to deliver food.
  • Second Harvest is not responsible for your valuables, so please leave all valuables in the trunk of your car.

Volunteer driver phone app

Volunteer drivers completing their first shift do not need to pre-download the app. First time home delivery driver volunteers will be provided an emailed/printed route and will not use the app.

After completing the first shift and clearing a background check, drivers may be able to use an optional smart phone app (“Field Service”) to receive routes, get directions, and update delivery statuses.

How to use the driver app (Field Service)

How to download and set up the app:

How to use the app:

If you have questions regarding if your specific volunteer site utilizes the Field Service app or how to download/use the app, please contact Home Delivery Coordinator Jennifer Godinez Maldonado or call 408-266-8866, ext. 157.

Home delivery resources