Volunteer
Mahi aroha at Kaibosh
Volunteers are at the heart of our work. In just a couple of hours a week you can make a real difference, helping to reduce food poverty and food waste in our communities
Thank you for your interest in getting involved with volunteering at Kaibosh.
Over 260 dedicated volunteers help Kaibosh Food Rescue at our three sites in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), Te Awa Kairangi (Hutt Valley) and Kāpiti-Horowhenua. Our service for the community couldn’t work without volunteers, and we’re grateful to have so many wonderful people involved!
Most volunteer opportunities at Kaibosh are weekdays during working hours, 9-3pm. Our Wellington site also has weekend volunteer opportunities. Read on below to find out more and to apply. We work with you to find a volunteer vacancy and role matching your interests and availability. If we don’t have a suitable vacancy, you might like to consider joining our backup/cover team.
Volunteer shifts
Most volunteer opportunities at Kaibosh are weekdays during working hours, 9-3pm. Our Wellington site also has weekend volunteer opportunities.
Volunteering roles include warehouse operations support, food rescue driver support, market rescue support, kitchen support, food sorting, second harvest produce sorting and sparkle squad cleaning support. Read more below about specific roles and approximate timings across each of our three bases.
Volunteer vacancies
We work with you to find a volunteer vacancy and role matching your interests and availability. Volunteering roles at Kaibosh are rostered once a week or once every fortnight. If we don’t have a suitable vacancy, you might like to consider joining our backup/cover team who support us on an adhoc basis.
Note, all roles at Kaibosh require a good level of fitness, standing for several hours and lifting boxes of up to 15kg.
Apply here
We work with you to find a volunteer vacancy and role matching your interests and availability.
If we don’t have a suitable vacancy, you might like to consider joining our backup/cover team.
Applying is via Volaby with a 2 step registration process. If you’re interested in one of the roles here, apply via Volaby to see our current vacancies.
Our Volunteer Managers will be in touch with you to find a role that matches your interest and availability
You can contact the Volunteer Programme team on the site-specific email addresses below:
Hutt Valley – Te Awa Kairangai
Kapiti & Horowhenua
Wellington City – Te Whanganui-a-Tara
Onboarding at Kaibosh
Following our on-boarding and health and safety induction, all volunteers are expected to be able to support our mahi unsupervised and work collaboratively with staff and volunteers in small to medium-sized teams.
We work with you to find a volunteer vacancy and role matching your interests and availability. If we don’t have a suitable vacancy, you might like to consider joining our backup/cover team.
Find out more about what to expect volunteering at Kaibosh in this short video.
Volunteer roles
Note, all roles with Kaibosh require a good level of base fitness as standing for several hours and lifting up to 15kg is often required. We provide training and guidance for safe lifting.
Operation Support
Approx. 2 hours, weekday mornings
Working alongside a Kaibosh staff member to support them with a variety of tasks onsite, including meeting and greeting our charity partners arriving to collect kai for their community, loading boxes of food into vehicles, cleaning the site and other ad-hoc warehouse tasks.
This role requires a good level of physical fitness and regular lifting of boxes weighing upto 15kg.
Food Rescue Driver Support
Approx. 3 hours, weekday mornings
Weekend shifts available in Pōneke/Wellington.
Working alongside our Kaibosh driver, this is a shift for those who like to lift. Meet our Kaibosh driver at our site base, help load the van with empty crates, and be the helpful passenger traveling in our Kaibosh van to rescue food/kai from food donors around the area.
Then travel back to base to help unload the crates full of kai, ready for the food sort team.
This role requires a good level of fitness and regular lifting of boxes weighting up to 15kg.
Food Sorting
Approx. 2 hours, weekday lunchtimes/early afternoons
Weekend shifts available in Pōneke/Wellington on Saturday and Sunday 4/4.30-6/6.30pm.
As part of a medium to large food sort team, you’ll quality check our rescued kai/food sorting it into boxes for our community partners to pick up.
This is a team collaborative shift, with every volunteer’s input helping us to do the mahi/work. From sorting good quality produce from mouldy and other non-edible produce (packed into boxes), to allocating and recording boxes’ weights in our computer system, to the ever-important end of shift cleaning tasks.
Everyone pitches in and the team vibes and laughs help the mahi/work happen.
Sparkle Squad
Approx. 1 hour, weekday early afternoons
On your own or in a team of 2, working around the end of the Kaibosh Food Sorting shift team as they finish up, bring your eye for detail and energy, to make our warehouse sparkle and shine so it’s clean, safe and ready for the next day at Kaibosh.
This role involves:
- Sweeping and mopping floors and behind bins
- Cleaning surfaces and sinks
- Cleaning food crates
- Other ad hoc cleaning tasks as required
- From time to time, may involve some food sorting, allocating and weighing food if the regular food sorting team need extra support.
Kitchen Support
Approx. 2-3 hours, weekday mornings at Hutt and Kāpiti sites only
Help to prep, cook and bake kai from rescued food, that is good enough to cook but may not last long in food boxes/parcels for our community partners.
Working in teams of 3-4, prepping and chopping vegetables and fruit, following guidance from our team or using your own creativity and ideas.
Together, we create nourishing kai and meal bases for our community partners who are supporting individuals and whānau.
Second Harvest Sorting - Kāpiti
Approx. 2 hours, currently Thursdays at Kāpiti branch only
As part of a small team of 2-3, quality check and pack produce donated from local growers and farms into boxes for distribution across our three sites.
This fresh kai is then distributed to our community partners. Produce arrives to Kāpiti site in bulk, varies by season and includes potatoes and onions.
Market Rescue Support – Wellington only
Approx. 1-2 hours, Saturdays and Sundays
Working alongside our Kaibosh driver, this is a shift for those who like to lift. Meet our Kaibosh driver at our Hopper Street base or at the weekend market in Wellington. Support our Kaibosh driver to rescue food/kai from market stall holders as they finish for the day.
This is a relatively fast-paced and dynamic shift, and requires a good level of fitness and regular lifting of boxes weighting up to 15kg.
Group volunteering
We are developing this part of our volunteer programme in our region and will launch more offerings for corporates or groups later in 2026.
There are many other ways for corporates or groups to get involved supporting Kaibosh throughout the year – or you can help us to fundraise.
Volunteer stories
See our blog
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Help us achieve our vision of zero food poverty, zero food waste
Be part of a community-powered movement creating lasting change.