Hi! Thank you for volunteering your time to help out at Twin Lakes Food Bank.
Please wear close-toed shoes for your safety, and bring a reusable water bottle. Also, please plan to park at Mt. Olive Church located across the street from the food bank. Please park on the side that is NOT directly across the street from TLFB so it is easier for our guests to park closer.
ALSO, please take the time to carefully review the following roles and responsibilities BEFORE you volunteer:
MEAT/DAIRY COUNTER
(3 volunteers, 8:15 start)
First and foremost, treat people with kindness!
Set up at 8:15am:
• Check all dates on incoming food from store donations and discard as necessary.
• Check all dates on items in deli fridge left over from the previous day.
• Arrange food by like items, keeping the oldest items in front for easy distribution. Utilize “FIFO”.
FIFO stands for First In, First Out and is one of the most common practices in food inventory
management. This is when the stock that was first in should be taken out first and used first. This
will help ensure that the least amount of food will pass its expiration date. FIFO helps with
inventory tracking and to minimize food waste in the supply chain.
• Don’t put anything in boxes into the refrigerator because there won’t be enough airflow.
• If there is a large amount of dairy, place like dates on the same shelf and label.
• When dumping dairy liquids and drinks down the sink, please enter each item on the
Dairy/Drink Spoilage Log hanging on the clip board by the window with a “tick mark” and date.
o Note: Cheese, yogurt, and other items found in refrigerators do not need to be logged
on the Dairy/Drink Spoilage Log, but they should be discarded in spoilage trash or placed
in Farmers Bin in the deli refrigerator if it does not contain meat).
• When stocking refrigerated prepared foods, TLFB follows the SFB guidelines as noted on
refrigerator signs. See complete list in Appendix K.
• Check deli freezer for inventory and stock from the walk-in freezer.
• Check refrigerator across from walk-in freezer for cheese, milk, eggs, and butter. Stock counter
as needed. Butter will be in the same refrigerator as milk or in a refrigerator in the warehouse.
Notify an Operations Staff (Ericka) member if we are running low on butter.
• Check refrigerators in warehouse to see if there are any boxes that contain items that the deli
counter uses.
• Check walk-in freezer for boxes of ready-made meals and stock deli freezer as needed.
• Check bread and dessert shelves for dates no more than three days old.
• Put out a selection of desserts and breads. Do not stack the shelves too high. Tape sides of big
cupcake or cake trays so they are easier for guests to handle.
• Determine what items to put out in the coolers.
• Stock toiletries as needed (available on the shelves near the deli refrigerator and black crates
near the registration counter refrigerators); update the blackboard as appropriate.
• Inventory sign with today’s quantity meat/milk/eggs will be updated by Director of Operations.
During shift:
• Volunteer greeter at the door (or Meat/Dairy volunteer, if no greeter that day) lets the guest
know when they can enter (no more than three carts at a time).
• Volunteer greeter at the door (or Meat/Dairy volunteer if no greeter that day) checks the
registration sheet for family size and returns sheet to guest. Families of five or more receive
double the quantity listed of milk, eggs, and meat. Families of 11 or more get triple.
• Volunteer greeter at the door (or Meat/Dairy volunteer, if no greeter that day) asks the guest if
they want a grocery bag; if yes, put a grocery bag in their cart. Then direct the guest to the meat
counter.
• Meat/Dairy volunteer offers food according to family size noted. Pull milk, eggs, cheese, and
butter as available. Note that the meat/dairy counter is sometimes the bottleneck, so treat our
guests with dignity and respect while gently moving them along through the meat selection.
• Ask guests if they need anything listed on the blackboard.
• Baby Formula is available behind the counter. Please only give out to guests with infants in
household. The guest’s ticket should indicate that information.
• Advise the guest of any other items available to them behind the counter (ideally, most items
besides meat, milk, eggs, and butter should be in the coolers) and then direct them to the
coolers on the table. Regarding how many items the guests can take from the counter, this will
vary based on inventory. Use your best judgment. The goal is to not have any food left over.
• Direct guests to take as much bread and desserts that will feed their family.
Close:
• Return items to the appropriate refrigerators/freezers.
o If the “USE BY” by date noted on the deli fridge is today, dispose of item at the end of
your shift by offering to volunteers or placing in Farmers Bin in the deli refrigerator if it
does not contain meat. On Fridays, add to the Farmer pallet that is prepared around
noon.
• Straighten up remaining desserts and bread. Check to see if there are any dessert items that
need to be refrigerated and place these in the deli refrigerator so that they will stay good for
the following day. (On Fridays, all remaining desserts and bread should be added to the Farmer
pallet that is prepared around noon).
• To set up the next day’s Meat/Dairy Counter volunteers for success, re-stock the deli freezer with
items from the walk-in freezer.
• Sanitize counters and cooler table (daily)
• Sanitize plastic shields at counter (daily)
• Sanitize coolers (daily)
• Sanitize meat bins (daily)
• Clean plastic meat bins (daily)
• Sweep the meat/dairy counter area (daily)
• Clean countertops and sink behind Meat/Dairy Counter (daily)
• Wipe up any big spills in the deli refrigerator (daily)
Thanks!
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