Alameda County Community Food Bank

I came here as a volunteer and sign up was seamless. I went to their site online and chose the time that fits my schedule. I volunteered for the morning session but you can do both to include the afternoon. You must make a reservation to volunteer ahead of time as they do not accept drop ins. There are several ways you can volunteer, I chose the produce sorting. If it's your first time here, you will need to arrive 15 minutes early and spend about 10-15 minutes for their new volunteer orientation. There is a 15 minutes break between 8:30am - 12pm morning shift. The last 30 minutes of your shift will consist of cleanup for the next volunteers. You will be assigned a lead volunteer to get you familiarize with your task and I must say, they were amazing. I would also like to say that the whole staff here were fantastic and extremely very helpful. I would highly recommend them if you're looking to give back to the community. Cheers!

Amazing team of volunteers and staffs who work together to make a safer , more equitable and more liveable city. You will enjoy and will learn a lot volunteering ( even for a day) in Alameda County community.

Be thr on appntmnt Pull in , guys will guide you all Once on door slide tendm Remove Red Line Unload in 30-40 min 👍🏻

I live in Senior housing and they food bank comes to our complex. I feel they might as well pass us by with rotten food expired date and mold on the food. We get the same items every week and they only cater to on minority of residents. It is a shame that they treat seniors this away already on a fixed income and the rent is high.

They are doing great things to end hunger in our community! I was so happy to get to volunteer there! Such an awesome day!

Very Kind and Welcoming Atmosphere. Great Staff. Customer Service with a Smile 😊😁. Easy to Find and Easy to Park.

Came here to volunteer as a group and the process was seamless from signing up, to check in, to orientation. I love that they share the group impact at the end of the shift and it was great to spend time with the team. The staff here are super friendly, plenty of parking.

I went to the food bank today with my program Ala costa and it was an amazing experience meeting everyone and the coworkers and the boss was nice 👍 and helpful.putting onions 🧅 in the bags and tying them up and putting them in the box 📦 so they could to people who need 🥘 food. I want to do it again.

I've been here two times and this is a great & safe place to volunteer! You must sign up in advance online. There's two 3 hr shifts, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Once you get to the location, park all the way in the back, to the right side, then enter through the door. Once you enter, you'll be greeted, write your name on a name tag, then you'll check in on the computers, and they'll lead you to a room where they'll introduce you to the ACCFB, talk a little bit about the history, safety, etc. They also have lockers if you want to put your bag inside, and they have a break area where you can leave your water bottles, etc. The restroom is also clean as well! For the volunteering portion, I bagged apples & potatoes, and also assembled the giant cardboard boxes to fill up the produce and fruits in. It is super fun and you get a 15 minute break in between. This is a great location to do this solo, with family/friends, or even with work! There are lead volunteers around to help you with anything you may need. At the end, they'll recap how many pounds of foods were pack and how many meals will be served to the community. It is such a wonderful place to volunteer and I know it won't be my last time coming here!

I came here as a volunteer event with my coworkers and I can say it was hard work, but very rewarding and most importantly fun! Sign up for this event was very easy. You sign up before you arrive and check in at the lobby sign in kiosk. They do require masks at this time, but do provide you with extra masks and gloves if you do forget yours. Before your shift, you do a temperature check/screening outside which is very easy and non invasive. Parking is safe. A gated lot with tons of security cameras and volunteers in the parking lot at all times. With outdoor tent eating area. Tasks include sorting fruits/veggies and bagging them for transport. Organizing boxes ect. A task for everyone. The volunteers are all very helpful and nice. And at the end of your shifts you can see how much meals you provided. Shifts are 3 hours each. One from 8:30-12 and 12-3. Time flies when having fun. Highly recommend this place to volunteer and give back. Link to volunteer: https://www.accfb.org/get-involved/volunteer/

I come here every Wednesday since 4 months ago with Ala costa when I got back in person and the experience is amazing putting food like bananas, onions, apples, pears in bags and tying them up sending to the less fortunate people who don't have a lot of food to eat including the homeless. The staff is super nice cool and down to earth. I enjoy coming here on a daily Basis I won't mind getting a job here.

Volunteering at Alameda County Community Food Bank is always the highlight of my week. I don't go as much as I'd like, but happy to of service when I can. The facility is clean and comfortable, all the employees I've interacted with are nice and helpful. The music they play is fantastic, a wide variety of genres. I've sorted and bagged fruits/vegetables, and last week I sorted through the canned/dry food donations. I was very pleased over the high quality foods represented. What I appreciate is how meticulous they are about making sure the food is of good quality. Just a great environment to be of service and support the effort to fill in the gabs for food insecurity.

I came here as a volunteer and sign up was seamless. I went to their site online and chose the time that fits my schedule. I volunteered for the morning session but you can do both to include the afternoon. You must make a reservation to volunteer ahead of time as they do not accept drop ins. There are several ways you can volunteer, I chose the produce sorting. If it's your first time here, you will need to arrive 15 minutes early and spend about 10-15 minutes for their new volunteer orientation. There is a 15 minutes break between 8:30am - 12pm morning shift. The last 30 minutes of your shift will consist of cleanup for the next volunteers. You will be assigned a lead volunteer to get you familiarize with your task and I must say, they were amazing. I would also like to say that the whole staff here were fantastic and extremely very helpful. I would highly recommend them if you're looking to give back to the community. Cheers!

Our design team just spent the afternoon volunteering at this well-run facility and it's a great way to give back to the community! There's always a need for volunteers, and these next few months are some of the busiest times for the food bank - if you're looking for an organized and thoughtful way to spend time with co-workers or friends, I can't recommend this space enough.

This review is based on my experience as a volunteer with the Alameda County Community Food Bank. My first time volunteering was in the summer of 2018 with my co-workers for a company community day. I then started volunteering regularly through a partnership with the Oakland A's Community Team. During the pre-COVID times, the volunteer shifts would last 4 hours (either before or after lunch), and we would take bulk produce and bag them, which would be distributed into the community. Depending on the season, we would bag different fresh fruits (apples, pears, plums, peaches, nectarines) or vegetables (potatoes or onions were very common). On any given day, there would be a group of 20+ regular volunteers (many retirees) as well as 20-40 more community volunteers, often work or school groups. Several of the regulars helped out weekly and really enjoyed the work and the community of peers. But once the Bay Area was ordered to shelter-in-place in March, the ACCFB closed their doors to outside volunteers, in order to minimize personal contact and possible transmission of COVID-19. They didn't reopen their doors to volunteers until June. At that point, they asked people to commit to full day shifts either 2 days (Tuesday/Thursday) or 3 days (Monday/Wednesday/Friday) shifts. I signed up for the MWF shifts during the month of June, later continuing for M/W shifts from July through the present. In addition to creating the produce bags, we are now creating full meal bags, with non-perishable foods like pasta and canned fruit and vegetables. During a full day shift, we are able to process about 3000 meal bags as well as sort several thousand pounds of bagged produce. While the work is very physical, it's worth it, as the demand for food during the pandemic has increased dramatically. In addition to the good work, all the volunteers have created a wonderful community, providing social contact that many of us would otherwise be lacking. The ACCFB is also very concerned with safety. In addition to the standard food handling practices (wearing gloves for handling fresh food), masks are required in addition to daily screenings and temperature checks before starting the work shifts. I definitely feel safer in the warehouse than any other building.

I got an opportunity to volunteer her through office. The place is cleanly maintained and so well organized. It is truly wonderful to see people working towards a good cause. PS- For those of you who may not be able to volunteer, please donate.

Today was a Good Day. I took the day off from work today . To participate in Yelp Helps . Our lovely CM Nique organized a group of Hard Working Yelpers to come work a Week Day shift at ACCFB. I woke up and jumped into my Urban Cowboy Whip and rolled to the ACCFB . They Have a Big Parking Lot for Volunteers to Park there Whips. I then rolled next door to the food bank . I entered the entrance under the Orange Awning ,which is the Volunteer entrance . There you will sign a Liability Waiver and go thru a brief orientation. Then you will enter the Warehouse and be assigned a job . Our Yelp Task Force Task was to sort Oranges into family serving mesh bags and package them. Our group of Yelpers and Boy scouts sorted Tons of Oranges in a shift. Those Oranges are going to feed the Needy , Hungry and Church groups . It was a great feeling to volunteer . Everyone should give it a try .

November 19, 2021 Update one thousand thirty four. Yes this Food Bank in hometown Oakland. It is now November. Busy, busy, busy. Of course, there thankfully be many donations, that is a good thing. However, I do want to let people know. Children do need help all twelve months, not just November, not just December. Me, I have given donations all twelve months. Reader may say, There He Goes Again. Mentions Children. Okay, dear readers. Yes I knowing all, infants, children, and adults, all them needing help. If one reads my review of any Food Bank, of any Salvation Army Corps, every that I donate to, helps the children of that town, that state. This situation, the children here of beautiful hometown Oakland, California.

This was the first time volunteering at the food bank. I was very excited to be a part of it and learning that although what we did today (bagging pears, apples, corn on the cob, carrots & oranges) it makes a difference in the community. There were about ~20 of us and was very happy to say we bagged about 14k pounds of produce in such a short amount of time! After our shift, we learned more of how much the food bank helps the community and county. It's surprising to hear how many people/families turn to the food bank for nutrition...it made me realize how much I take things for granted. I will definitely come back & volunteer again!

My husband and I signed up to do some volunteering at the Alameda County Community food bank, and had a blast! I highly recommend it. This facility receives a massive amount of food that is packaged in crates and boxes. Its the job of the volunteers to sort and pack this food into smaller units, sometimes meals. They have these "assembly line" tables that make the job so much easier and fun. We met lots of cool people as we worked the various assembly tables. Its also a great change from sitting in an office or on the couch. You're on your feet moving a bit. A little exercise is good. The signup process was easy and the volunteer program is well run. We will definitely do it again in the near future.

Had a great time as a volunteer with my team! The lead staff and volunteers were very friendly. Shoutout to Blair for a great time. Our team of 10 managed to process 6,600 pounds of food by the end of our shift! Lots of parking in the back. Make sure to show up a few minutes early before your shift to sign in and get situated. Get ready to break a sweat and do some tedious (but rewarding) work! Our shift ran for about two hours with a 15-minute break in between. Stick around for the brief tour of the warehouse afterwards, it's truly eye-opening and makes you appreciate all the amazing work the food bank does for our community. Immediately after your shift, you get an email that highlights what was done, which makes the work that much more impactful and worthwhile. Everybody has to volunteer with them at least once! Interesting things I learned: don't donate candy because it gets tossed, food donations only make up 3% of the food the food bank distributes to the community, and 80% of food given out is bought by the food bank. Oh, and if you bring your organization's shirt, they'll display it on their wall of shirts of companies that have volunteered with them! Lots more tidbits, but you'll have to go and see for yourself!

A wonderful place to spend a couple of hours and help out such a needed cause. I'm not going to talk about statistics and such you can check their website for the info. Let me ask you a question, did you enjoy a meal today? Well, sadly many adults and children can't answer yes. They need our help either by labor or by funds. The food bank sorts all kinds of food items that go out to smaller non-profit groups for distribution. You might sort and/or bag produce or put together food boxes. Which ever task you do you are making a huge difference in someone's life. Sign up to volunteer, make a couple of new friends and put a couple of hours to good use. We can all put down our laptops, smartphones and turn off the TV. Nothing can describe the feeling after you volunteer. Go do it and you will find out.

"The face of hunger may surprise you!" Hunger is a huge issue in our world. So many people, go hungry each day. Sometimes, we take it for granted. We write reviews of places we hate, because the service was horrible or they added too much salt or didn't add enough. If you take a step back, there are people out there who would just be happy to eat. With that said, don't get me wrong, I'm not here to lecture you, but to give you an insight on what this organization does for the community. Food banks are all over the Bay Area. They provide produce and can foods/meals to charitable agencies and directly to the community. Feeding over 200,000+ people just at one Food bank facility. Imagine the number of people they feed if you combine all of the food banks in the Bay Area. This is my third year that I've been volunteering at food banks. The first one was at Fairfield http://www.yelp.com/biz/food-bank-of-contra-costa-and-solano-fairfield-2?hrid=x0fKp2m6mHMJUcOHZc4dog Which majority is produce. My second location was Concord http://www.yelp.com/biz/food-bank-of-contra-costa-and-solano-concord-2?hrid=0lY6tDbPlUasi-gvi4DB-A This is the first place I experienced Food Sorting. It was fun, but a lot of work. A true assembly line. The Alameda Food Bank is similar to the Fairfield location but twice the size. I basically bagged apples for three hours. Later, we received a tour of the place which was really cool. At the end we saw an area I would call the "grocery store". Organization arrive early morning, grab a shopping cart and go shopping. Then "check out" at the end. It was an interesting concept. Overall, as my 250th review, I couldn't find a better place...volunteering is a passion for me and I hope you find the time to give back to your community. It will cost you nothing and you get to meet new people.

My friend WL introduced me to volunteering here. And I'm hot on the heels of a summer orientation training early today, for serving the local youth lunches during the entire summer. How beautiful a collaboration: a trifecta cadre comprised of Oakland libraries, City of Oakland, and the AC Food Bank.... managed under a Federal Program. Read Linda M's review to understand and get the sobering statistics. This is the 2nd year that such a brilliant idea is returning to our midst. They are in sore need of more good hearts and giving hands. Won't you please consider giving back to the community and paying it forward? Where there is one need, we are all in need.... As a super-smarty HBS grad once said, ""We are all busy, yes. But we also labor under potent illusions, and isn't it a wondrous thing that we can help ourselves see through them by lending a hand to someone else?" Gareth Cook

This is an incredible non-profit. I was in awe of their facility, operation, and organization. Very impressive! Nique F, the illustrious Community Manager and current VHS Tape Rewinding World Record Holder, did a wonderful job organizing a Yelp Helps outing to the facility - and we actually got to get hands on with the food sorting! Their facility is *HUGE*. Sitting in the industrial district right next to the airport they have a massive amount of warehouse space. They need volunteer assistance on both weekends and weekdays, but especially on weekdays. For weekday food sorting there are two "shifts" a day: 1) 8:30am to 11:30am -and- 2) 12:30pm to 3:30pm. We did the afternoon shift. It was a blast :-) We were stationed on a little conveyer belt and it was our job to fill netted sacks with oranges drifting by. The time went by super quick. The staff was awesome. Everything was brilliantly organized. And at the end they even gave us a full walk-through tour of the facility. The refrigeration unit alone looked like it was about a football field long. And they let us go in the zero degree (Fahrenheit!) immense freezer - that was a kick. Great afternoon. Great organization. Thank you to ACCFB for being so organized and awesome. Will definitely be back again to help out soon! :-)

I don't know what took me so long to write about this place but it is a wonderful organization to volunteer for. I came here back in September to fulfill the community service requirement in order for me to obtain units for a class. I was a bit nervous on my first day, but right off the bat I was introduced to such friendly and inviting people who are so passionate about what they do. Having spent a little more than three months volunteering, I had the chance to work both in the office and in the warehouse. I was also informed that they are expanding the warehouse to accommodate more volunteers. There is so much diversity amongst all the volunteers and I was pleased to be in the presence of people dedicating time to do something good for the community. Shelia, the volunteer coordinator, told me that "there are so many people here for different reasons. Some are ex-offenders doing time, some are paying off a ticket, some are even here because they want to be here. Whatever the reason is, you will learn a lot from them and they can also learn a lot from you." Every piece of produce that I touch, every mailing envelope I seal to one of their partner agencies, every message I go over on the food helpline, gives me a sense of accomplishment knowing that I helped someone who may not eat 3 meals a day as I do. It's very fulfilling and I hope after reading this you will find some inspiration to contribute to the community at large in whatever way.

I volunteered with my company for a few hours and it was truly educational. It made me really appreciate the work the food bank does for the community. The location is an extremely clean facility with a massive fridge and freezer. I'll be coming back to volunteer in the future. Huge thumbs up for the work this organization does. Highly recommended!

Anytime, I'm able to help out. I look forward to doing that. I didn't realize the amount of work and support the Alameda Food Bank does. I would like to say Thank you. Volunteered here with my job and it was great to give back. They are always looking for help to assist in the food drive. Place is spacious and clean. Keep up the Excellent work!!

I volunteer at the food bank and now my 10 year old does too. We have a good time giving our time and our money to such a great cause. I have worked in the warehouse and in the office. Normandie, Dom, Judah, Rodney and everyone else who works there and volunteers there are such great people. There is an initial volunteer orientation (held on Wednesdays), which is interesting and doesn't take long. If you have a few hours to spare or canned/boxed foods items, please give to the Alameda County Community Food Bank. If you see one of their donation barrels at your local grocery store or mall, please donate. If you would like to help by having a donation drive at your place of business, group or organization, just give them a call. They take monetary donations as well, which are tax deductible. In these tough economic times, there are more people than ever who need some help. You might be helping your friends, neighbors or even relatives. Heck, you might even need their help at some point.

Love this place! Friendly volunteers and staff. Feels good helping the needy. We bag fruits and veggies and having a good group conversation.

The ACCFB serves 49,000 people each week all over the east bay. They provide services such as an Emergency Food Helpline, CalFresh Outreach, Food Assistance Programs and Free Summer Lunches. They also organize food drives....you may have seen those barrels at your local super markets, community centers, etc. I volunteered at the ACCFB the past 3 years through corporate volunteer days. The staff is super friendly and great at giving the orientation, explaining the tasks and wrapping up with the group at the end of the project. I had a very pleasant experience each time. I bagged carrots during the 4 hour shifts. The competitive nature in me came out, so I tried my best to be a super productive carrot bagging machine. Great cause, great nonprofit!

Food injustice is a thing that more and more people are becoming aware of with the plummeted economy, and it's a huge deal here in the Bay Area. Donating time to the food bank is one of the most rewarding things a community member can do. Because WE LIVE IN A COMMUNITY PEOPLE! Love thy neighbor :) Just click here to get started! http://www.accfb.org/volunteer.html I have taken advantage of a couple different volunteering opportunities through the ACCFB. I have gone to some sorting events at the actual warehouse (one involved food from The Grilled Cheese Guy, a fancy and DELICIOUS Bay Area food truck, the other also had delicious snacks!). There was always a really good presentation about some history of the food bank and whatever the event is. The Cesar Chavez Day sorting event presentation was especially touching... Maybe I'm a marshmallow but when I learn about the amount of need all around me, I can't help but get all emo and it motivates me to volunteer more. Most recently I've been helping with the Summer Lunch Program in conjunction with Oakland City Libraries. It's a great program, far-reaching and easy to access... however, some of the libraries seem to be less gung ho about it than others and some could have used more advertisement IN SCHOOLS before the school year ended. Just seems like certain communities have no idea this is available to them. Either way, it is a wonderful program and the ACCFB will continue to grow and get better, needing more volunteers as the state keeps cutting funding to it and similar organizations. GO VOLUNTEER! ANYWHERE! BUT DEFINITELY WITH THE ACCFB! I mean, all this time you spend eating in fancy restaurants and yelping them can be spent in much more rewarding ways.

The staff at this Food Bank are super friendly and inspiring. Did you know 1 in 6 Alameda County residents are served by the food bank these days? And 43% of those clients are kids!! So sad. BUT...*you* can make a difference! The main warehouse is near the Oakland Airport. Sign up to take a shift sorting and bagging food. Or two shifts. They can especially use volunteers during the week. Kids need to be eleven to volunteer (unless at designated family events). Our family spent a morning volunteering with a group from Mr. M's work. If you don't have time...give them some $$. They can s-t-r-e-t-c-h your dollars and get them to buy more food than you could ever hope to with that money.

I've donated to this organization before. Every $1 you send them allows them to buy $7 of food, with no admin overhead. (Apparently their HQ/warehouse building is entirely paid for!) I volunteered there for the first time recently, sorting food in their warehouse. I was impressed at how well the shift was run. I don't expect to be catered to when I do these things, but they showed us a brief video, gave us thorough instructions, and thanked us at the end. These are the facts, and although it's unusual to Yelp a charity, I think the above warrants five stars.

This is my favorite place to volunteer in the Bay Area. Our corporate group has volunteered here several times, and will be back many more. It's a great venue for a group or individuals, they give you an excellent tour, and really, packing tons and tons of oranges and carrots is just plain fun! Everyone is really friendly and it's a great experience!

I've volunteered at lots of places and this has to be my favorite place to volunteer by far :) Everyone who works there is super nice and you get to meet lots of other volunteers. I've volunteered in the warehouse, office and front desk. I look forward to my shifts there each week and knowing how much I'm helping families makes it even better.

The booster club that I am associated with volunteered here today. Our host was a guy named Judah, the volunteer logistics coordinator. I had never done volunteer work like this before, but all the information he gave us about how many families in the community they help and provide for, made this the perfect place for us to help out and volunteer.

Having moved from Phoenix, AZ and being heavily involved with St. Vincent De Paul, St. Marys FoodBank, and a few other organizations there, I was anxious to find where I could help here in the East Bay. I was very excited to learn that my employer, Kaiser Permanente, was involved with the Alameda County Community Food Bank. I signed up and within a month, I was able to volunteer for a few pallet breakdowns for some fruit (apples and nectarines) to get out to the community. I enjoyed the facilities and the staff were super friendly and very passionate about their plight. We enjoyed a great day and ended up bagging over 6000pounds of nectarines and 8000 pounds of apples. What a lot of fun to get to know some of the volunteers, as well as the ones who run this very clean, organized, and worthwhile organization. I learned a lot about the donation process of food, money and time and also received a tour of the facilities. I can say, it felt good to find somewhere to help and I look forward to getting more and more involved around the bay as I become more familiar with the area. Thank you for letting us come into the world of helping others and I will see you again soon. Keep up the great work.

very nice people working there. from the counter register lady to the office worker-Ying li Guo. she is very patient, explain the detail of Cal fresh police. and answer all our questions. we are very satisfaction with her wonderful service. robin choice

I volunteered here today as part of my workplace effort. It was a great experience! I highly command the staff and volunteers here. They are doing some good work. God bless!

Great volunteer opportunity, sorting fresh produce that will go directly into the hands of neighbors in need. ACCFB had things beautifully organized to make use of our time - four of us bagged 2500 lbs of carrots for distribution in just a few hours. This was my first time volunteering there. It was through a Meetup group called "get me out of the house" I've already signed up for next month :)

Had a great time helping out and understanding their process to help Alameda County. Our volunteer coordinator gave a great presentation and truely had a heart for what she does. Keep up the great work!

Just volunteered with my Kaiser Permanente coworkers. It is so well run and we need to support them when we vote to END HUNGER BY 2018!

Awesome place! Volunteered here and had a great time! Sheila is an amazingly friendly coordinator! People should definitely help out here when they have the time!

It could not be easier to volunteer and have a meaningful impact. What an amazing organization that provides such a valuable service to the community. I spent four hours bagging cabbage and pears this past week and afterwards was taken on a tour of the facility where I got to see how the warehouse worked, got to walk into the massive freezer and refrigerator, learned that they served 1 in 6 people in Alameda County (how is that possible?), and was given resources about how I could engage my friends and family. A wow expereince from end to end.

Went there this past sat. had a blast helping fix up corn. the new building is really nice.

I like volunteering here. Nice facility inside. The parking is a bit weird. My only suggestion is that they accommodate repeat volunteers, and make better use of their time, especially for half-day volunteers.

A local farmer I know was growing fields of vegetables for Whole Foods, local farmers markets, and other local grocery stores. He grew an extra field of USDA certified organic lettuce of all varieties to donate to this food bank. He had his workers harvest it, package it, chill it, and deliver it to the food bank. He had plans to continue setting aside a field to grow for the food bank in future growing seasons. Shortly after the truck returned from dropping off a few pallets of lettuce at the food bank, he was informed that it had all been thrown away because a few ladybugs were found on the ORGANIC lettuce. Rather than picking through the few with ladybugs, or even offering him to take it back to sell to one of his clients, they threw it all away and said they do not accept any food with bugs. Needless to say, that farmer decided he did not want to grow anything for them anymore, as it was a huge waste of his time and money. It is absolutely disgusting how wasteful people are, and how disconnected people are with the fact that vegetables come from outside.

Today I went to the Food Bank for help with my CalFresh case. Not only did they help me with my application, answer all of my questions, and send my application to the county for me, but they gave me a free bag of food because I was so stressed out and low on cash. I cannot emphasize enough how grateful and appreciative I am for the nice people here!

I recently took a group of kids and adults to volunteer here and everyone was touched with the service and how many thousands of people the food bank helps. We packaged 19k lbs of produce in 3hrs! It was a lot of fun, nice, clean facility, and thorough description/background of the food bank's role in our communities and the millions of needy families that benefit from them. I can't wait till my next volunteer opportunity!