Good Morning Britain 1 Million Minutes: Food Collection volunteer

This year, Trussell is teaming up with Good Morning Britain's 1 Million Minutes campaign, which aims to encourage viewers to pledge their time to tackle the issues of loneliness. Since launching in 2016, almost one billion million minutes of time have been donated to various charities in need of volunteers who can connect with those who feel alone.

As a Food Collection volunteer, you will play a vital role in supporting your community. With some planning and enthusiasm, you can help provide much needed food for people living locally, in hardship. Here’s how to get started.

• Visit our donate food page to find your local food bank
• Check on their website to see what food items they need. You can also check your local food bank’s social media profiles to see if they’re asking for anything specific. The donation is all the more valuable if you’re giving items that are truly needed. If there is no information, please contact the food bank and ask them what they need.

Plan your collection

• Contact your local food bank for guidance.
• Choose the best time to run your food collection, for example, at the weekend, or over a few weeks.
• Decide on a food collection point that is convenient, for example, at home, or in a community space, ensuring there is enough space to store your donations.

Promote and run your collection

• Actively engage your network and invite friends, family, or neighbours to participate. You can spread the word via social media, WhatsApp groups, local noticeboards or simply putting a notice through letterboxes.
• Circulate a food list, so people know what to give. (Remember to only include long life non-perishable items).
• Make sure they know where your food collection point is, and what they need to do.

Top tip: friendly challenges or mini competitions can help increase donations.

Deliver your donations

• Contact the food bank to agree a time to deliver your donation to them.
• Share and celebrate your success
• Thank everyone who contributed. Once your collection has finished, remember to get in touch with people who donated, and share how many items were collected, where the food has gone, and how grateful you, and the food bank, are for their support.

Remember: As a Food Collection volunteer, your time and effort is hugely valued and appreciated. Every kilogram of food you collect goes straight to people in crisis in your local community, making a direct and real impact. Thank you for making a positive impact in your community. Together we can all make a difference.

Click on the ‘click here to apply’ button to get started.