Community Pantry Volunteers

Forest Voluntary Action Forum are looking for volunteers to help with the new Forest Community Pantry in Cinderford. The aim of the pantry is not to provide crisis support but to help ease the cost of weekly shopping bills by offering a range of groceries for a fraction of the cost to those referred to shop with us. You can find out more about the pantry on our website.

We need volunteers to help in two ways;

Behind the scenes: Could you help out on a Tuesday to get things ready for our shoppers? We need people to assist with stock checking, date rotation, code checking, cleaning, and making sure things are displayed beautifully.

Meeting and greeting: The pantry is open on Wednesday mornings 9.30am – 12noon. We are looking for helpers to meet and greet customers, chat those waiting, give them a drink and make them feel welcome. The pantry is only small, so our users do sometimes need to wait to shop, and we want everyone arriving to feel comfortable and at ease. Volunteers may need to help visitors fill out the membership form and handle money.

We are looking for volunteers who are friendly, understanding and able to put people at ease. We like to get to know our customers and understand their individual needs.

Both roles will need basic literacy and numeracy skills. Training will be given and volunteers will be working alongside our Pantry Manager.