The Elgin Street Mission is seeking volunteers for early fall to help meet high meal demand in Sudbury, Ontario [1, 2].
The recruitment drive comes as the mission struggles to maintain staffing levels during a seasonal dip in participation. Without additional help, the organization faces challenges in providing consistent food security for the local population.
Director Amanda Labreche said the call for volunteers on Aug. 21, urging the community to sign up for shifts starting in September [1]. The mission said that volunteer numbers have dropped over the summer months, creating a gap in service capacity [1].
Labreche said that the organization is looking for a wide variety of participants to fill these roles. "Businesses, families, and individuals can serve together," Labreche said [1].
This effort to stabilize the workforce follows a period of strong community support. Records indicate that 31 local groups have previously volunteered at the food bank [2]. The mission relies on these partnerships to manage the daily logistics of meal preparation, and distribution.
Local residents can coordinate with the mission to schedule shifts. The organization said that the need for meals has not decreased despite the lower number of available workers [1].
“Businesses, families, and individuals can serve together.”
The decline in summer volunteering highlights a common vulnerability for non-profit food services, where operational capacity often fluctuates based on seasonal availability. The reliance on a mix of corporate and individual volunteers suggests that the Elgin Street Mission is attempting to diversify its labor pool to prevent future staffing shortages during peak demand periods.
