Check out this great video on the Kansas City Community Kitchen by NBC Nightly News!
Nourish KC (formerly Episcopal Community Services) is an amazing organization and is always looking for volunteers!
Volunteers fill several different roles, from helping in the kitchen to washing dishes or being wait staff in the dining room. The Kansas City Community Kitchen is open EVERY weekday, including holidays and in winter weather, to serve a continental breakfast from 7:30-9 and lunch from 11 am – 2 pm. You’re welcome to volunteer once a week, once a month, bring a group one time, or whatever works best for your schedule.
Volunteer shifts and roles break down like this:
Morning prep teams, every weekday, 8:30 – 10:30 am. Up to 8 people are invited to join the kitchen staff and some of the culinary trainees to help finish breakfast service and prepare lunch for that afternoon. Common tasks might be helping with breakfast dishes, chopping fresh fruit and salad ingredients, or sorting that morning’s donations.
Lunch service, 10:30-2:30 each weekday. At 10:30, before lunch begins, Nourish KC provides training on how the whole system works. After they lock the doors at 2 they ask everyone to help clean up, getting you out no later than 2:30 pm (often earlier when everyone pitches in). Volunteers can choose from among the “front of house” positions, including roles as hosts, wait staff, bussers & beverage station. They can use as many as 25 people to serve lunch, but availability varies and spots are filled on a first come, first served basis to be fair with the large number of requests. Smaller groups & individuals will be scheduled with each other to make up optimal staffing.
Lunch short shift, 10:50-12 each weekday. This shift is perfect for folks coming on their lunch break from work, or just generally short on time. By coming in for this hour, you help us cover the 11-12 “lunch rush,” when things are busiest in the dining room. If you haven’t served with us before, you need to arrive at 10:30 for the training beforehand.
Saturday morning prep team from 9 am – 1 pm. Groups that prefer weekend service can help at KCCK with whatever needs to be done to get organized and ready for the next week. This may be processing produce or other donated food items, cleaning out the pantry/fridge/freezer, deep cleaning kitchen equipment, etc. Teams here are usually limited to 12 people but some larger groups may be used for special projects worked out in advance. Please note that during the school year, these spots often book up months in advance.
For more information and to sign up, visit their website!