Volunteer Roles

Collect / deliver food:

Collections

Volunteers visit participating businesses and collect surplus food which would otherwise be thrown away. The food is then returned to the hub, weighed and logged.

Deliveries

We have relationships with a variety of local groups. Food is selected for these groups in line with stated preferences and needs, and delivered to various locations around Aberystwyth. We are also delivering Surplus

Selections to various locations, by car, bike, and on foot. Our buddy system, means that whilst access to a car is helpful, it is not a requirement.

Hub Duty:

This role involves opening the community fridge, and sharing food with the community. It involves encouraging the community to pay as they feel and value the food, engaging in food conversations, and maintaining the space as friendly, accessible, and clean.

Surplus Selections Teams:

Surplus Selections are pot-luck food boxes which are ordered in advance. Originally they were only available for delivery, now we have (pre-booked) collection slots. Surplus Selections are available Wednesday to Friday, and volunteers are involved in every part of the process - planning delivery routes, communicating with supporters, stock rotation of surplus food, putting together the Surplus

Selections, dispatching and delivering them, tidying the hub ready for the next day.

Bwyd Dyfi Hub Box Team:

Volunteers help to pack up local produce grown in the Dyfi Biosphere for customers who order food direct from producers through the Open Food Network. Volunteers pack the food orders in the hub for collection or delivery on Tuesdays, and work in a team to resolve any issues when the veg is delivered (such as missing items and substitutions). Generally, this is a team of at least three people.

Clean Teams:

We believe that we have a shared responsibility to maintain the hub, and ask all involved to tidy up and clean any mess they make or come across. We also have dedicated cleaning teams whose specific focus is to keep the Hub clean and fresh, and complete Opening or Closing checks. These daily checks are both important to maintain hygiene standards, and in order to meet food safety standards - it is really important that they are completed.

Composting and Waste Team:

This role involves collecting the food waste from the hub and taking it to our composting site located past the skate park and along the river near the Penparcau allotments. You can transport the compost using with the hub bike and trailer or the Sustrans e-cargo bike (training provided). The Food Sharing Hub does need support with waste management, such as a volunteer to put the bins out early on a Tuesday morning.

Tyfu Aber Grow:

The Tyfu Aber Grow community gardening group have sites around Aberystwyth where they support the growing of food, herbs, fruits, and lead other exciting gardening activities. This role is suitable for anyone interested in getting their hands dirty, no experience is required, and we welcome experienced gardeners.

Welsh Translation:

We strive to be as inclusive as possible, and this includes making our premises, website and social media more welcoming to native welsh speakers - to this end we are looking for bilingual individuals / groups to help us by undertaking translations of key documents and displays, and expanding from there.

Admin Support:

Task focused, including supporting the Bwyd Dyfi Hub box ordering system; engaging with local food producers and customers; processing volunteer application forms and arranging inductions; transferring food logging data to computer; updating our mailing lists; bookeeping; planning Surplus Selections deliveries; email confirmation of Surplus Selection collection slots etc.

Cook/Chef:

Surplus food is prepared for events in the ECO Hub, and at other locations. As we are working with surplus food, we do not always know ahead of time what ingredients we will have, and therefore can not always plan menus ahead of time. Volunteers need a willingness to learn and practise good food hygiene. We need a combination of both creative thinkers, and those who are happy to undertake preparation tasks.

Event Support:

Setting up venues, serving food, washing up, there are a variety of support roles for people with varying characters and competencies.

Youth Leaders:

Prior to the pandemic we ran both Little Sprouts (for parents and small children) and Youth Food Fridge (mostly 15 year olds) - the groups were introduced to various ideas and actions relating to reducing food (and associated) waste; Youth Food Fridge also undertook food collection on foot, including completing the logging process. Leaders for such groups must be confident communicators, and be able to be a positive influence on the group.

Roles don't quite suit you?

If you have an idea of an alternative way you would like to contribute, please talk to us about it, afscommunityhub@gmail.com

Download and complete the volunteer application form.

Return your form to: afscommunityhub@gmail.com, or to the ECO Food Sharing Hub