VOLUNTEERS

Volunteer Opportunities in Nutrition Services

Volunteers are needed to help prepare and provide nutrition, culinary and food safety programs. Help with special projects and administrative support is also highly valued, and is arranged on an individual basis. Detailed information about volunteering for Share Our Strength's Cooking Matters™ is below.

Cooking Matters ™

This innovative program uses cooking classes to teach nutrition to low-income families. The goal is to provide a long-term solution to hunger and poor nutrition by teaching how to get the best nutrition possible on a limited budget.

Roles for volunteers include:

•  Culinary Instructors, who teach adults, children and teens how to cook healthy, low-cost foods using the lesson plans and recipes provided in the Cooking Matters™ curricula. Volunteers can be professional chefs, culinary students, or experienced commercial or institutional cooks.

•  Nutrition Instructors, who also teach adults, children and teens how to make healthy choices using the lesson plans provided in the Cooking Matters™ curricula. Volunteers should either possess or be working toward a degree in Dietetics or Nutrition, or have 3 years of work-related experience.

• Course Assistants, who help facilitate classes by assisting with onsite or offsite class preparation and implementation. Duties may include shopping for food, managing class materials, helping with set up and clean up, and working with students as needed. Any member of the community with adequate transportation may serve in this role.

• Photographers, who capture the "Cooking Matters story" of participants and volunteers in photographs, including images that demonstrate class members having fun, learning, eating, socializing and cooking. Any professional or aspiring photographer with experience operating a digital camera may serve in this role.

If you are interested in volunteering for Cooking Matters™ or for other activities in Nutrition Services, please see Contact Us.