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Volunteer with us
Our volunteers have provided more than 2 million free meals to people in need across Edinburgh.
We'd love it if you could join our community.
We are open Monday to Friday. We have volunteer opportunities in the mornings and afternoons. There is no weekly time commitment, so you can volunteer when it best suits you.
We are based at 3-11 West Granton Road, Edinburgh, EH5 1HG.
Please note, to volunteer with us you must be 16 years of age or older.
You can find more information about our different volunteer roles below.
If you would like to volunteer with us, please fill out this form. You will then receive an email with some more information and be able to sign up for an induction.
If you are interested in arranging a group or workplace volunteer day, please click here.
If you have any questions, you can contact us on volunteer@emptykitchens.co.uk or call us on 07918 121606.
To find out about specific roles, please click on the images below.
Deliveries
Car or Bike
Shifts available Tuesday to Friday.
Our volunteer delivery team help us get meals to those who need them across Edinburgh. You will deliver meals on your own bike or in your car.
You must be comfortable using a smartphone and SatNav/Google Maps. Routes typically cover 10-15 stops (depending on your route, transport, and number of other volunteers).
Kitchen Assistant
Shifts available Monday to Thursday.
Our Kitchen Assistant role involves helping our Head Chefs to prepare meals for our service users. Using surplus food, we reduce food waste and make healthy, tasty meals.
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Kitchen Porter
Shifts available Monday to Friday.
The Kitchen Porter role supports our chefs to free up their time to focus on cooking. This involves dish-washing in a dedicated area adjoining our kitchen. KPs may also assist with basic food preparation such as washing, peeling, and chopping vegetables. There can be some heavy lifting and using our commercial dishwasher.
Packing
Shifts available Monday to Thursday.
On Fridays, you can volunteer as a server at our on-site hot food service.
Our packing shifts consist of turning the cooked meals into individual portions and meal packs. It is a varied role and you can be doing anything including portioning cooked meals, building meal packs, slicing bread, labelling allergens, cleaning, or unloading deliveries.
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Cleaning
Shifts available Monday to Friday.
The cleaning shift is a nice short, 2-hour shift which is great for anyone who wants to support us but who doesn’t have a lot of time to give. It involves sweeping and mopping the hall, foyer, corridors and toilets. Our cleaning volunteers are really essential to our operations in allowing us to maintain a hygienic food-handling environment throughout the building.
Administration
Shifts available Monday to Friday. A weekly time commitment required.
Running a charitable organisation requires administration support across the Welcome Desk, Logistics, Rota Management, Volunteer Services, and Service User Engagement teams
Please just let us know when you apply if you can assist with any of these areas.
To start volunteering, please complete the form below. You will then receive an automated response, which includes all the information you need to get started. If you would prefer to sign-up over the phone, call us on 07918 121606.
Group Volunteering Days
Does your workplace offer group volunteer days? We would be delighted to host your team for a day. Tasks include food preparation in the kitchen and preparing meal packs. You can also help with deliveries, if you are coming by bike or car.
Once a week, we are able to host a group of 3-5 team members for the day. This is typically from 9.30am-4.30pm, on either a Tuesday or a Wednesday. We are happy to work with you to find a mutually convenient date.
To arrange a group volunteer day, please contact us on volunteer@emptykitchens.co.uk or give us a call on 07918 121606. We will arrange a call or visit to explain what will happen on the day. You’ll also be asked to complete a ‘One-off Volunteering Agreement’ before you come on site with us.