If you’re into helping your community and having fun, join us! The volunteers of Feed Fannin are a diverse group of people from different backgrounds with different skills, but they have one shared goal: to give back to their community. Without our dedicated volunteers, Feed Fannin would not exist.
Become a Feed Fannin Volunteer!
You don’t have to have a green thumb or work in the big garden to be part of Feed Fannin. There are many opportunities available to get involved and help with our mission. If you are interested in any of the volunteer opportunities listed below, please contact us to get started!
Groundskeeping
This group of volunteers landscapes and maintains our gardens and land. Efforts include planting and maintaining flower beds, lawn mowing, weeding, and building maintenance.
Events
This committee organizes and staffs the Feed Fannin booth at major local events such as “Arts in the Park”, “Photos with Santa”, the Old Timers’ Parade in July, and other local events. Outreach to the community helps tell the story of Feed Fannin. Please join in to represent Feed Fannin at our events, distribute information about our activities, community contributions, and needs.
Bowls of Hope
Since Bowls of Hope is our major fundraising event, we have established a special committee to organize and run this event. For Bowls of Hope, we obtain monetary sponsorships from individuals and businesses, gather food donations from local restaurants, collect handmade bowls donated by local potters, and accept donated items for our silent auction. Up to 100 dedicated Feed Fannin volunteers make this major annual event possible.
Food Pantry
This group of volunteers recruited by Feed Fannin serves at the Food Pantry and helps with sorting, stocking shelves, packing client carts, and distributing food to clients of the pantry and to Feed Fannin’s other community partners. These volunteers also assist with client intake at the front desk check-in loading food into clients’ vehicles.
In 2020, Feed Fannin initiated a “Farm to Pantry” program to provide fresh produce year-round by sourcing it from local farms and enhancing our garden-grown produce with additional garden vegetables and fruits from local suppliers. Shelving for “Feed Fannin’s Fresh Produce Market” was set up inside the lobby of the food pantry for clients so they could select from a variety of fresh, nutritious produce made available through Feed Fannin.
In addition, volunteers monitor and collect donated food deposited in our Green Boxes located in retail establishments around Blue Ridge and stock the food closet on the campus of the University of North Georgia in Blue Ridge.
Education
This committee partners with North Georgia Master Gardeners the Young Farmers Association and others to organize and sponsor classes for the community. Classes focus on growing, preserving and preparing fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as other garden-related topics.
Youth Programs
We also have a Youth Garden Program that sponsors gardening activities/classes in our local schools. We help the schools build new educational gardens and sustain existing gardens with supplies, training, and consultation.
In addition, Feed Fannin is a supporter of the Fannin County Young Farmers Association and many of the programs they sponsor.
Scholarships.
In 2021, Feed Fannin awarded its first scholarships to two seniors continuing their education after graduating from Fannin County High School. This committee screens applicants and selects recipients for the award(s). Applicants from various area schools are encouraged to apply, and preference is given to those who wish to pursue studies related to food, nutrition, agriculture, farming and farm maintenance and related environmental sciences, etc.
Publicity and Communications
This committee is responsible for all Feed Fannin communications, such as producing the newsletter, developing promotional materials, providing the newspaper with news and photos about Feed Fannin, providing graphics and content for social media, and the website.
Technology
This group of volunteers provides oversight and advice concerning internet technology enhancements, including security, software upgrades, etc. These volunteers work in collaboration with our publicity and communications team to support graphic design, manage our web presence, and post about Feed Fannin activities on Facebook.
Finance and Development
This committee explores new avenues for fundraising, including charitable foundation grants, fundraising ideas, and ongoing, sustainable donor support. It also provides advice and counsel to the organization on financial matters, requirements, and funding opportunities.
Volunteer Coordination
This group works to recruit, welcome, and orient new volunteers.
Special Projects
This group helps identify outreach opportunities in the community that can lead to new partnerships. Through these partnerships and collaborative efforts, Feed Fannin can reach more families, children, and seniors in the community who are in need of food assistance but can’t visit a food pantry due to health problems, transportation issues, caregiver obligations, or other life challenges.
Research Garden
This committee researches and experiments with new gardening techniques and methods that are practical and work well in our climate and geographic area. These methods are shared with our community through demonstration sites and workshops.
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact us!