Volunteer roles at The Pantry in Eagan are available Monday-Friday, with evening opportunities on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Most Pantry roles involve face-to-face (or phone) interaction with clients and are located primarily in the shopping area. Some positions may require time in our warehouse and walk-in cooler (Pantry Assistant).

Checkout Volunteer:
Assist clients as they weigh and bag their food and manage the flow of the checkout area. This role is a mix between sitting and standing.

Client Support Volunteer:
Provide quality customer service in-person and on the phone by welcoming clients, managing calls and voicemails, and updating client accounts. This is a sitting desk role. Spanish-speaking volunteers are fantastic in this role, BUT it is absolutely not a requirement.

Greeter Volunteer:
Welcome clients to The Open Door, help them check in and set up their next appointment, distribute appointment slips, and provide Emergency Bags. This is a sitting volunteer role. Spanish speaking volunteers are fantastic in this role, BUT it is absolutely not a requirement.

Pantry Assistant Volunteer:
Ensure clients have a pleasant shopping experience by guiding them through the shopping area, answering questions, and restocking shelves as necessary. You may also help stock our walk-in cooler (jackets provided!). This role requires standing the whole shift and may require time in the warehouse.

Warehouse volunteer roles are available at various times Monday-Friday. These occur in an industrial setting (closed toed shoes required) with fluctuating temperatures, and involve the ability to bend and lift 40+ lbs.

Food Rescue Driver:
Play a crucial role in securing food for The Open Door, and divert good food from the landfill! Each weekday morning, drivers take an Open Door van to pick up food donations from local grocery stores and deliver them to the warehouse. Valid Minnesota driver’s license, background check, Volunteer Orientation and training required. Must be 18+. This one’s for early birds!

Food Sorter:
Volunteers are responsible for receiving and weighing food from morning food rescue operations. You will inspect food to ensure it meets our quality standards and follows USDA food safety guidelines. After inspecting food, you will help organize food items, properly store food, and compost/discard any food that doesn’t meet quality standards. This is a fully standing role. Great for groups!

Warehouse Assistant:
Ensure dry goods and perishable items in the pantry are well stocked. You will help pull items for offsite distributions, accept and sort incoming donation drop offs, break down boxes, and assist with general upkeep of the warehouse area. This is a fully standing role.

These volunteer roles are available on Mondays and Fridays.

Drive-Thru Check-In Volunteer:
Greet clients when they arrive for their Drive-Thru appointment. Get them checked-in, direct them where to go next, and ensure they have a pleasant experience at The Open Door.

Drive-Thru Distribution Volunteer: Greet clients as they drive up to receive food. Help load their box of food into their vehicle. Answer any questions they may have and ensure they have a pleasant experience at The Open Door. 

Off-site volunteer roles do not require you to come to The Open Door facility unless otherwise stated. Mobile distributions occur at various times of the day Monday-Friday across Dakota County. If off-site distributions are of interest to you, we will provide a list of distributions so you can pick which one works best for you!

Some distributions will occur outside from May-October. Volunteers must be 16+ unless otherwise stated. All Mobile Pantry distribution volunteer roles involve face-to-face interaction with Open Door clients.

Off Site Distribution Helper:
You’ll meet the Mobile Pantry team at a specific distribution site in Apple Valley, Lakeville, Burnsville, West St. Paul, or Farmington and support the distribution. This can include unloading the Open Door truck, setting up tables and food, assisting clients as they shop, and ensuring that everyone has a pleasant experience. Between May-October, some sites will host their distribution outside.

From May-October, The Open Door’s Mobile Pantry hosts seasonal food distributions called Pop Ups. These occur just like our year round Mobile Pantry distributions but are always outside! Pop Ups typically occur on Thursday afternoons between 3-6 p.m. across Dakota County, except for one which occurs on the second Tuesday of the month.

All Pop Up distribution volunteer roles are 16+ unless stated otherwise.  Exceptions may be made for those younger than 16 who are accompanied by an adult!

Client Data Tracker:
You will meet the Mobile Pantry team at your designated Pop Up site. Once at the site, you will greet clients as they first arrive, ask them basic information (ex., household size, what city they live in), and enter data on our Open Door tracking sheets. Spanish speaking ability is fantastic, but it is not a requirement.

Food Distributor:
You will meet the Mobile Pantry team at your designated Pop Up site. Once at the site, you will assist with distributing food to clients, bagging food if necessary, carrying food to vehicles, and ensuring everyone has a pleasant experience!

Set Up/Take Down Volunteer:
You will meet the Mobile Pantry team at your designated Pop Up site. Once at the site, you will help unload food from the truck, set up tables and food boxes, and get ready for the distribution. After the distribution ends, you will help load boxes, tables, and leftover food back into the truck. Requires bending and lifting 40+ lbs.

Giving Gardener
There are many ways to give! Tend and harvest a garden at work, church, school or your organization, or “Grow a Row” for the Pantry in your own backyard garden.  ‘Share a Share’: donate part of your CSA to the Pantry. Too many tomatoes? Donate your extra produce to the Pantry!

More info about Giving Gardens

Compost Pile Turner
Requires the ability to stand, turn compost with a pitch fork, and break down bigger pieces by hand or a cutter that you bring, and water the pile.

Other positions
Includes standard shifts and special projects. Complete an application, and we’ll be in touch!

Garden to Table Volunteer Application

Drivers and Helpers (June-August only)
You will drive or ride in an Open Door van to a school, pick up meals, and drive to predetermined neighborhoods to distribute meals to children. Valid Minnesota driver’s license, background check, volunteer orientation and training required. Must be 18+ and have the ability to lift 30-plus pounds and use navigate using phone mapping software.