Picnic in the Park offers free, nutritious meals to ensure that summer is fun for all kids in our county.

We rely on community volunteers to help manage and support these meal distributions, by handing out lunches, conducting essential meal tracking, and ensuring the safety of our clients.

The Foodbank is seeking volunteers who:

• • Are able to commit to multiple shifts throughout the summer (ex: come every Wednesday or pick a week and come M-F) to provide continuity. Ideally, volunteers should be able to volunteer for at least five shifts during the summer.
  • Are available for approximately two hours, start to finish, during lunchtime on weekdays during the period of June 8-August 7 (June 16-August 14 in Carpinteria).
  • Are willing to undergo a brief criminal background check.
  • Feel comfortable standing, bending and doing light lifting for 2-3 hours.
  • Feel comfortable engaging with people face-to-face and enforcing social distancing and safety protocols.
  • Are age 14 and up.
    • If you are a senior volunteer, we will continue to follow the advice of Santa Barbara Public Health and the CDC. As long as you are advised to stay at home by those agencies, the Foodbank encourages you to abstain from volunteer activities.

Site Leads are also needed who:

• • Are able to make an ongoing commitment beyond five shifts during the summer.
  • Will coordinate communication between other volunteers, site staff, Foodbank staff, and PIP attendees.
  • Will enforce the Federal guidelines/rules for free lunch service and ensure appropriate documentation is recorded each day.
  • Will enforce social distancing and safety protocols.
  • Will take on overall leadership of a site, including help with set-up, sign-in, and clean-up.
  • Are able to attend a Zoom Orientation prior to the start of Picnic in the Park (if you are unable for the Orientation dates, but interested in being a Site Lead, please contact us).
  • Are age 18 and up.

Learn More

As Shelter-in-Place orders continue, our needs for volunteers to deliver food to housebound seniors has continued to grow. Delivery drivers will drive their own cars, and delivery is no-contact; the groceries are left on the front door step. One-time only commitment required.  

To sign up, select the region you’d like volunteer in, create an account, and sign up for the shifts! We ask that you please register in advance of each event to ensure that we have the appropriate number of volunteers. If you have any questions please contact Kelli Padilla.