Volunteer Opportunities
in Edmonton
Volunteer and make a difference with
Edmonton Meals on Wheels!
Edmonton Meals on Wheels has a variety of meaningful volunteer opportunities in Edmonton. Whether you’d prefer a more client facing role or you’re happy behind the scenes, we have plenty of Edmonton volunteer opportunities.
Volunteer Drivers
As a volunteer driver, you would be responsible for bringing nourishing meals to a diverse group of clients. Our volunteer drivers need to be personable and comfortable visiting people’s homes. We’re looking for compassionate individuals who genuinely care about the people we serve – and are proud of the difference we make! To become a volunteer driver, you must be at least 18 years old, have a valid driver’s licence and a reliable vehicle, and provide a clear criminal record check including a vulnerable sector check (which is reimbursable). Depot Drivers must be over 25 years of age. Volunteer drivers use their own vehicles for deliveries, and you can either claim mileage or donate it back!
Volunteer Driver Responsibilities:
- Pick up meals from our central office or a regional depot for delivery.
- Follow delivery instructions, problem-solve, and maintain great communication with the office staff.
- Schedule at least 2 shifts per month for a minimum commitment of 3-6 months.
Available Delivery Driver Shifts:
Daily Meal Delivery:
Monday – Friday | 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Frozen Meal Delivery:
Wednesday & Thursday | 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Volunteer Kitchen Help
Serve Up Compassion in Our Kitchen
As a kitchen volunteer, your job would be prepping ingredients, portioning out dishes, and assembling daily meals. This is an incredibly important volunteer position as our professional kitchen team needs help so they can focus on cooking all the delicious meals for our clients. In order to work as a kitchen volunteer, you must be 16 years or older. We operate a commercial kitchen that follows all safety, health and sanitation requirements, so when you come to your volunteer shift we ask that you follow all safety and dress code guidelines.
Kitchen Volunteer Responsibilities
- Work alongside professional staff members – no culinary experience required.
- Help prepare raw vegetables, portion and package various food items, and assemble daily meals.
- Schedule at least 2 shifts per month for a minimum commitment of 3-6 months.
Available Kitchen Helper Shifts:
Monday – Friday Mornings:
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Monday – Friday Afternoons:
12:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Volunteer Opportunities for Students
Are you a university student eager to make a meaningful impact in the community while enhancing your volunteer experience? Edmonton Meals on Wheels offers diverse opportunities that align with your schedule and commitment level. As a university student, there are many ways you can contribute to our mission!
One opportunity is volunteering in the kitchen, where you’ll work alongside professional staff members and gain valuable culinary skills without needing any prior experience. Alternatively, hop behind the wheel as a driver, delivering nourishing meals to those in need.
If you love spreading joy and talking to people, we’d also encourage you to consider joining our Friendly Caller Program, offering connection and friendly conversation to those who may be socially isolated.
At Edmonton Meals on Wheels, we understand the importance of flexibility for students; that’s why we welcome your participation, enabling you to balance your academic commitments while making a positive impact on the community. Join us today and discover how your time and energy can create a lasting difference in the lives of others.
Corporate Volunteer Opportunities
Is your company looking for a hands-on way to give back to the community? Come volunteer with Edmonton Meals on Wheels! Elevate your company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility, strengthen team bonds, and make a collective difference in our city as your staff volunteers either in our bustling kitchen or as delivery drivers.
In the kitchen, your team will work alongside our professional staff, preparing nutritious meals that nourish those in need. As volunteer drivers, they can deliver meals directly to our clients, fostering a sense of connection and compassion. We have many opportunities available and would love to work with your team!
Join Edmonton Meals on Wheels in creating a positive impact with our corporate partnerships!
Frequently Asked Questions
We get a lot of questions about how volunteering for Edmonton Meals on Wheels works, Here are the top questions we’re asked — with our answers! If you have a burning question that isn’t answered here, send us a message. We’d be happy to help you with any questions you may have.
There are two main worlds for Edmonton Meals on Wheels Volunteering: The Meals and the Wheels.
The Meals: The food we serve is cooked on site using fresh ingredients. Food preparation is directed and supervised by our Red Seal certified Head Chef. Each day he leads a team of paid staff members and volunteers to prepare meals for our clients. Kitchen Helper Volunteers chop vegetables, assemble meal components, and package the meals in containers for delivery.
The Wheels: We deliver around 400 – 500 meals per day throughout the city of Edmonton. Our fantastic Delivery Volunteers each deliver food for up to 12 clients every weekday. Beyond delivering food, this team gets to know the people on their routes and checks in to make sure they are well.
Other opportunities and volunteer roles may arise on an as-needed basis.
Volunteers coming as individuals join our Dedicated Volunteer Teams. We ask each volunteer to commit to a minimum of two volunteer shifts per month for at least three months. For drivers, we prefer a minimum six-month commitment.
If you are looking to volunteer as a corporate or community group, please contact volunteer@mealsonwheelsedmonton.org to discuss requirements.
Kitchen Helper Volunteers must be 16 years old or over.
Delivery Volunteers must be 18 years old or over.
This is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. We have had very successful volunteers start with us for their Community Service Hours, and we welcome applicants to discuss possible opportunities with us.
Our volunteers are essential to the operation of Edmonton Meals on Wheels. That being said, we understand that life happens. If you are scheduled for a shift and cannot make it, you must let us know as soon as possible. Please give us as much advance notice if you know you will be unavailable.
We request that you do not volunteer if you are sick, or if your living space has pests such as bed bugs, cockroaches, or mice. We want to avoid passing these along to our clients. Please do NOT attend your shift in these cases, but please DO let us know as soon as possible.
Volunteer benefits include:
- Knowledge that you are helping to feed community members who would otherwise not be able to have fresh, healthy meals
- A great team of staff and volunteers
- Professional references for reliable volunteers upon request
- Volunteer events with food, fun, and freebies
- Connection with other volunteers and members of the community
- Additional rotating perks
Please complete and submit the application form on this page for our volunteer coordinators to review. They’ll contact you with more information about next steps to join the Edmonton Meals on Wheels volunteer team.
The first shift of kitchen staff arrives at 5:45am to set up for the day. Kitchen Helper Volunteers start arriving at 8:00am. The primary tasks involve preparing meals one day in advance and organizing the meals which will be delivered that day. Between 9:00am and 9:15am, the kitchen starts the packaging process that we call The Line. Our fresh daily meals are packaged for individual clients and put into bins for each delivery route.
Delivery Volunteers start arriving between 9:30am and 10:30am, depending on their route. Not all drivers arrive at our downtown location. We have five Depots in different sectors of the city (e.g., north, west, etc.). Depot Driver volunteers come to our central location, pick up the meals for their region of the city, then drive to their respective depots to distribute the routes to those drivers in the area. Our meal delivery window is between 10:30am and 1:00pm.
Back in the kitchen, once all the meals are packaged and sent out, the Kitchen Helper Volunteers help prepare the next day’s meals and restock our frozen meals. At 12:00pm the morning volunteer shift ends, and at 12:30pm the afternoon volunteer shift begins. The afternoon Kitchen Helper Volunteers are vital to make sure that all the food is ready to go for the next morning. There are preparation tasks as well as packaging parts of the meals such as soups and sandwiches.
By 1:00pm the deliveries for the day are complete. The Delivery Volunteers bring back their empty delivery bins to the depots, where the Depot Drivers pick them up and return them to our downtown location. Here our Post-Delivery Organizer Volunteers take over and make sure that all the equipment used for deliveries is flipped, cleaned, and ready to go for the next day.
Between 3:30pm-4:00pm the kitchen starts winding down. The focus turns to cleaning and sanitizing all the workstations. The afternoon volunteer shift ends at 4:30pm.
On Wednesdays and Thursdays, the Evening Driver Volunteers start arriving around 4:00pm. These volunteers are making the weekly frozen deliveries. This delivery window is from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. All Evening Driver Volunteers pick up the deliveries at our downtown location.
Our second shift of kitchen staff winds down at 6:30pm, then we start again the next day!
For the kitchen, each person coming into the space is considered a volunteer. Every person must be at least 16 years old and will be screened as a volunteer individually. We have many couples and parent/child teams who volunteer together. We welcome you each to apply and schedule yourselves together! Pets are not permitted.
For deliveries, many people volunteer with their partners. We prefer both partners be screened and registered with us as an individual volunteer, in case they ever deliver solo. Drivers are held responsible for anyone else they bring along on deliveries, whether they are companions or children. Many clients love meeting kids, it can really brighten their day! Children can benefit from accompanying their guardians to deliver meals. It’s an excellent way to show them ways to contribute to their community and have fun doing it. For food safety reasons, animals must never come into contact with the meals and are not permitted in vehicles during deliveries.