Volunteer FAQs

What is required be a volunteer runner?

All Volunteers are required to take a certified food safety test before volunteering.
Please read the Peninsula Food Runners Food Safety Guide before taking the test.
Additional Food Safety training https://www.shfb.org/impact/blog/food-safety-training/

What are some of the best practices for a wonderful and successful food run experience?

Read the confirmation email to gather details about the Donor, Recipient and the Back-Up Recipient.
Please use of GPS or Google Maps to route your food runs before heading out.
To save time and gas, consider doing personal errant before and after the food run. Or consider doubling up on food runs in proximity being delivered the same end recipient.
Please read instructions carefully. Donors may request a call or text in advance (15-30 minutes) to confirm food availability. This prevents unnecessary trips. Supply your estimated arrival time so food can be packed up and ready for you. Ask if a cart is available or if you need to load the food into your trunk.
Consider lining your trunk with a liner or towel in case the food packages or trays leaks during the delivery. To avoid leaks best to remind Donors to drain out liquids i.e black beans, indian food, etc.
The Health Department suggest Donors indicate on their packaging or trays of food the following information : Type of food, Donor name, the date and time of donation. This label information should be visible for the recipients.
Holiday Schedules often Varies. Please take note to check for the following if you are a Regular Runner.

Is the Donor still donating during the holidays? Is this Food Run being routed to the same recipient?
If the Donor informs you of upcoming schedule changes, please immediately email to support@peninsulafoodrunners.org. This will allow the the program manager to take action due to the changes and notify the parties involved.

What happens if assigned myself to a food run but changed my mind ?

You can access your account with your email and password—-> click on Volunteer —> click on “ My Active Food Run” —-> Click on Release . You can release the food run anytime before 2 days or 48 HOURS before the food run is to be accomplished.

You can also NOTIFY the program manager by sending an email to support@peninsulafoodrunners.org (please attach your food run confirmation email to your request).

Please check to see if the food run is still posted in your account

Check in ChowMatch, under "Volunteer" and go to "My food runs" Scroll to see if the food run still exist in your food run list. If it's not longer in your account, it has been removed from your responsibility and has been released back into the ChowMatch platform. If it is still in your account, send another reminder email to support@peninsulafoodrunners.org

I have an emergency and cannot carry out the food run.

YOU PASSED THE DEADLINE OF 2 DAYS OR 48 HOURS, PLEASE TEXT Hoai-An (408)726-2742 and cc Maria (415)203-8389 SO THAT ANOTHER RUNNER CAN BE NOTIFIED TO HELP SUPPORT THIS FOOD RUN.

What other supplies should I consider having on the food runs?

We recommend keeping a box of hand wipes, disposable gloves, and paper towels in the car when transporting food. An folding cart is an option in case one is not available at the donor site. Best to have one if you are planning to help out at the farmer’s market.

What should I expect to receive as a Volunteer?

Due to the transient influx of Volunteer, only Regular Food Runners who have passed the Safety Awareness Test and have signed up to be a Regular Runner (one food run a week) for up to 12 food runs or more will receive T-shirt and any marketing gifts when available.

What is the best strategy to transport multiple trays of food i.e. 15-20 trays of food?

Here is a successful strategy used when dealing with many trays of food. Clear out your trunk, lined it with a tarp or towel. Request the donor drains all liquid prior to loading.

Start the first layer of the heaviest trays (mostly rice, pasta, potatoes, meats…) and positioned the trays lined up going in the same direction. The 2nd layer of lighter trays (breads, vegetables, salads etc..) are then stacked perpendicular on the top of the first layer of trays. This criss cross stacking distributes the weight of the trays and will hopefully limit the leakage.

The donor or recipient has requested a change in schedule. What should I do?

Please convey the message immediately to support@peninsulafoodrunners.org. This may often occur during government, religious, and seasonal celebrations. Please encourage the Donors and the Recipients to notify Hoai-An (408)726-2742 or Maria (415)203-8389 at Peninsula Food Runners Organization.

What should I do if I cannot get in touch with the contact person at the Recipient location?

Sometimes, another staff or client onsite may be able to assist you.
Immediately text Hoai-An (408)726-2742 or back up Maria (415)203-8389
Final option is to take the food to the recommended back up Recipient. Below we have listed recipient agencies that are open 24 hours a day. This information is also provided on our website.

I called the Donor and the Donor confirmed there was no food. Do I need to contact the recipient?

Remind the donor to cancel the food run online so that an email will notify the recipient.
Text Hoai-An (408)726-2742 to indicate that there was no donations.
When you are completing the reporting of your food run, you will asked to reflect the correct transaction.

Can a Volunteer get a tax write off for volunteering?

Although you cannot get a tax write off for the time you volunteer, you can get a mileage write off. Please access your account on Peninsula Food Runners website to see all the food runs that you have done for the calendar year, print the information, and then consult your accountant.

Here are the steps to retrieve your miles from your volunteer account.

1. Go to peninsulafoodrunners.org and click on Login.

2. After logging in, select "My Food Runs" in the drop down menu.

3. Click on "My Past Food Runs" (the link is at the bottom of the page)

4. Scroll to the bottom and to see the total mileage of all your food runs.

For any food runs perform prior to May 17, 2017 please contact us for your list of food runs.

Can I apply my volunteer time with Peninsula Food Runners to my employee volunteer program?

Certainly! You can retrieve all your volunteer time from your Peninsula Food Runner account and supply it to your company’s Human Resource Group.

The number of hours can be determine by the number of food runs you have done. For example if you accomplish 5 food runs, then you receive 5 hours of volunteer hours. Click on “Volunteer” and then “Past food runs” to determine your total number of hours. Please consider combining your volunteer hours with your “Impact Report” to show the overall environment and community impact you have made.

Finally, find out if your company will financially match your volunteer hours for Peninsula Food Runners. i.e Intel contributes $10 for every hours an Intel volunteer accomplishes. We do rely on donations so why not double your impact.

I am a mother of two and my time is split between sport practices, errands etc. Are there food runs that are suited to my schedule?

Yes! The flexibility we provide our Volunteers is one of the features that many Volunteers like best when volunteering with us. Our system is set up to be flexible. Many on-call runs are posted between 1-5 pm and are available for anyone to volunteer on the spur of the moment.

What are regular food runs versus on-call food runs?

"Regular" food runs are when a Volunteer decides to support a Donor or Recipient on a regular basis.
Presently we have regular runners who support single or multiple food runs that are either weekly or twice a month. These runs can be shared among other Volunteers or friends.

An “On Call" food run, on the other hand, is a food run that is released a short time before pick-up and usually on the same day the meal is served. This allow Donors to assess the quantity of food in order to determine if it is of sufficient volume to donate. We ask for donations that can feed 10 or more people. The best time to check for On Call Runs is between 12 -5 pm daily.

If I am doing multiple food runs, should I allow the first donor to pick out only what they want?

We would like to treat all our recipients with respect and as fair as possible. We prefer recipients accept donations without sorting through the donations. If food is to be shared between two groups, the Volunteer should make an effort divide the food as evenly for each recipient. A complete meal is made up of protein, vegetable, and carbohydrate.

Who should I call in case I am in the field and cannot get hold of anyone?

Please call: Hoai-An, PFR Dispatcher program manager 408-726-2742 or Maria back up 415-203-8389 or office 415-826-6903.

I am a regular runner but I am going on vacation. What should I do? How should I notify you?

All Runners can set their own vacation days or breaks. The system will release your food runs to the Chow Match platform for other volunteers to support your account and the system will post the food runs back into your account. Here are the steps to setting up your vacation time. Please enter your vacation days no later than 3 days of your vacation date.

Click on Volunteer (pull down menu)

Click on Volunteer account

Click on Volunteer profile

Scroll down to Vacation mode

Enter the beginning date and ending date

Save your request by clicking on Submit

Any questions email to support@peninsulafoodrunners.org.

There is lot of untouched food at a party that I just attended and I would like to take it somewhere for the food could be enjoyed. Where can I go?

North San Mateo County - Daly City, Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae etc.

Safe Harbor Shelter: 295 N. Access Rd., South San Francisco (24/7)
Catholic Worker Hospitality House 555 W. San Bruno Avenue, San Bruno (4 pm-9 pm) and the house at 672@ 2nd Street, San Bruno (11 am -4 pm)
Industrial Hotel 505 Cypress Avenue, South San Francisco. (9am - 9pm)

South San Mateo County -San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, etc.

The Vendome Shelter: 415 E. 2nd Avenue, San Mateo ( 7 am-10 pm)
First Steps for Family: 325 Villa Terrace, San Mateo ( 8 am-9 pm)
Maple Street Shelter: 1580A Maple Street, Redwood City (24/7)
Spring Street Shelter: 2686 Spring Street, Redwood City (8 am-9 pm)

North Santa Clara County - Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, East Palo Alto etc.

Project We Hope: 1858 Bay Road, East Palo Alto (4 pm - 12 pm and 11 am-4 pm by appointment only)
East Palo Alto Senior Center: 560 Bell Street. (10 am- 5 pm. Call 650-329-5900 to set-up after 5 pm deliveries)

Mid Santa Clara County -

Julian Street Shelter: 546 W Julian Street, San Jose (24/7)
Home First: 2011 Little Orchard Street, San Jose (24/7)
Marketing Material for Distribution
I am thrilled about your mission to reduce food insecurities and food waste! How can I help ?
Adopt a food run and become a regular runner.
Share our mission : We reduce food insecurities and food waste in our communities.
Send them to our website at www.peninsulafoodrunners.org to learn more about what we do.
Offer an interested friend a ride with you on one of your food runs so that they can see what you do.
Help recruit volunteers to become Food Warriors (highest needs are in Northern San Mateo and Santa Clara County)
Solicit your favorite food businesses or companies to donate their surplus. We are always looking to rescue good eatable food that can help feed hungry bellies.
Please provide monetary donation to help support full time staff to manage the logistics and to support our donors, volunteers and recipients. Your donations will help us feed more people in need by educating and servicing more donors to donate and not waste their surplus food.
Here are additional Marketing material for your use.
Letter for Donors
Letters for Friends and Families
Letters to request for Financial Donations