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Specialized Volunteer Opportunities

A specialized volunteer opportunity asks you to draw upon your professional and life skills to benefit the work of the Food Bank or is one that requires a unique or recurring time commitment. These roles are in addition to the traditional, scheduled volunteer opportunities in our warehouses or distribution sites and that are listed on our online calendar.

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We update the following list of opportunities as our needs change. Contact us at volunteer@brafb.org if you want to learn more about a specific role. As part of the application process, a brief interview may be required to be sure your specialized volunteer placement is fulfilling for you and meets our needs.

(The following list was last updated 9/26/2025. Click on the role title to read the position description for more details.)

Urgent Opportunities

  • Walk the Line Nutrition Education Volunteer
    • Engage Food Bank guests in brief, respectful nutrition education conversations while they wait in their cars at outdoor Mobile Food Pantry distributions.
    • Commit 2-3 hours per distribution.
    • Participate in 3-4 distributions throughout the year between March and October.
    • Learn more about this opportunity by scheduling a call with one of our volunteer managers.
  • Senior Food Box Admin Volunteer
    • Commit to participating in at least one round of guest check-ins (approximately 25 individuals). 
    • Be able to work independently and remotely (in person options are available upon request at one of our four distribution centers). 
    • Learn more about this opportunity by scheduling a call with one of our volunteer managers.
    • You warmly greet guests as they arrive and check them into our client database on a provided tablet to ensure a smooth food pickup process.
    • This role requires a recurring time commitment: once a month for 2-3 hours in the morning, plus 2-3 hours each month for data support, which can be done from home.
    • This role is needed at 2 locations:
      • Columbia, Va.:  3rd Wednesday of the month, 9:00-10:30 a.m.
      • Timberville, Va.:  2nd Thursday of the month, 8:45-11 a.m.

Standing Opportunities

  • Photographer (throughout service area)
    • Visual storytelling is a powerful way for the Food Bank to illustrate, communicate, and reinforce our culture and the impact of our work. You will use your photography skills to help document our events, programs, volunteers, and staff.
    • The work can often be scheduled at your convenience.
  • Videographer and Video Editor (throughout service area)
    • You will put your video editing skills to work to provide us with tools we can use to communicate.
    • The work can often be scheduled at your convenience.
  • Translator and Interpreters (throughout service area, as needs arise)
    • You will use your skills and expertise to ensure people have access to vital nutrition information. The most-needed languages include Spanish, Arabic, and Russian; however, we may need help in other languages.
    • The volunteer will serve as an interpreter for the Partner Engagement Coordinator and the pantry staff. Shifts are based on pantry hours.

Help us spread the word.

If you know others who might be interested in our opportunities, please share this page and our options for volunteering.

The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is an Equal Opportunity Employer and strongly encourages people with lived experiences of hunger and members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including people of color, LGBTQ identified people, gender-nonconforming people, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and people who speak a language in addition to English.